Loves Fool
by Auntie Shara
Summary: Through out the years Edd has grappled with the knowledge that he is different than most of his peers. witness his hopes, fears mistakes and triumphs as he struggles to make sense of himself and others. Kevedd Nat belongs to C2ndy2c1d I do not own Ed Edd and Eddy, I own my OC Angelica Johnson. The Sisterwives belong to Dshell99, Sy belongs to sybrann, RKevedd belong to Asphyixon
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-Intro

A/N This is not going to be you're a typical EEnE fic. They are not going to be in their normal niches (i.e. Kevin is not going to be living across the street). If it helps, think of the characters of EEnE as actors in a play performing certain roles. There probably is not going to be much if any fluff here. This story is my view on how a gay person in the closet and a closeted bisexual would deal with societies set norms concerning what they perceive as a taboo. I will try to set warnings in future chapters for violence, sexual content homophobia language misogynistic behavior and drug use, but if I don't, consider this your warning. Lastly this will jump forward in time a few years in places, so I hope it doesn't case too much confusion. O and P.S. I'll do my best with spell check but if I miss something oops.

Eddward was just like every other kid, he likes video game, movies, riding his bike and just goofing off with people he knew. He had two loving parents that were not famous or world class anything, just a couple of nurses, trying to provide for their child. They met while attending nursing school, his mother had just recently divorced his biological father for adultery, and the man he now calls father had divorced due to the strain of losing a child. Though they loved their child they were rarely home due to scheduling at work. His mother worked 2nd shift at the local state hospital for the mentally ill and his father worked 3rd shift at another mental hospital an hour away in the nearby city of Summerville. His step Father had three girls that lived with their mother several hours up north in Rosewood, Lee, May and Marie. The girls would come down to visit every now and then, mostly during the summer, but occasionally spending a school year with their father. One at a time of course, poor Eddward's mother could not handle all three at once for so long, not without swearing to kill every single last person in the house at least once.

Double D had moved to Peach Creek in his 5th grade year, that is where he met his friends Ed and Eddy. Like all friendships it had started off slow but blossomed into an inseparable trio. It was during Double D's 6th grade year that he had come to terms with his sexuality. Realizing that the boys held more interest to him than any of the girls in his class had. This revelation brought much turmoil in the boy, for he had heard what the other boys would say about people like him. Such things as calling each other homophobic words to taunt each other, or saying "all fags should die", or "did you see that fucking sissy over there". All in all Double D knew what it meant and already being less then popular, he knew to ever come out of the proverbial closet would mean certain social death if not literal. He was very certain that this would also mean his friends, that he had come to cherish over the past year, would more than likely leave him. With the realization of his sexuality also came the constant checking of himself to make sure that he wasn't showing any tell-tale signs of what he was. This drove the boy to become introverted, as the years passed on. Though he wasn't what the stereotypes depicted, he didn't want to take any chances of discovery because he talks too much, or made to many expressive movements. Fear drives us in directions we never thought we would take, or actions we should forsake.

6th grade year went by well enough without discovery, though the usual bullying did occur due to his statues in the social hierarchy. Only one incident stuck in his mind, which only reinforced his introverted nature. It was close to the end of his 6th grade year when his father had the weekend off and his step sister, May, was visiting for her spring break. Their father, Tony, had just taken them to see the latest Disney movie. Running into one of his classmates there, of course, the kid made it a point to remind Eddward many times that he had gone to see a kid's movie. Though why, Eddward could not figure out, seeing how the kid had been there himself as well. It was after the movie that Tony took Eddward and May to the shop next door to the theater to get them all ice-cream. As Eddward was enjoying his frozen treat by licking at it, he heard a couple of teenagers laughing to his right. Turning to see what the object of their amusement was, in case it was something note worthy, to tell his friends later. He was petrified to discover that the three teens were staring in his direction. Oblivious to what it was he was doing that was so amusing. He peals his attention away from his ice-cream, gives the three teenagers a "what the fuck" look and ask "What's so funny"

The girl closest to him takes a few breaths to subside her laughter a little so she could talk "So, do you lick dick just as good." Her and her two friends just start rolling in laughter again while pointing and making more snide and homophobic comments to little Eddward.

Tony who had been paying attention to May turned to see if his son was enjoying his ice-cream realized the situation going on and caught only the last of what the girl had said. It was all too clear to him though that it was all directed at his son, and something uncharacteristic of him came out of his mouth. "Hey you stupid bitch, why don't you leave the kid alone, he aint done nothing to you." He looked down at Eddward and seeing a face of pain and worry put his hand on his shoulder and turned him to walk toward the car. "Don't listen to them kiddo, they are just trying to make themselves feel better by stepping on you." At the next trash can Double D throws his ice-cream away and vows never to eat ice-cream from a cone again. "You really shouldn't let them bother you like that. If you let everyone's opinion of what you do or who you are determine how you live your life, you're not going to have much of a life to live."

"I know father, it just hurts to hear those things come from someone I don't even know." I mean come on who says that kind of stuff to a 12 year old.

As they reached the car and before Eddward could take his seat, his father turns Eddward to face him by putting both of his hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eyes. "So are you going to let them rule you?"

"No father I am not." Eddward replies with a sigh and heavy heart. He knew his actions of throwing his ice-cream away was giving the girls exactly what they wanted, victory.

"So do you want another ice-cream? We can go to DQ if you want." He says as he releases Eddward and reaches in his pocket for his keys.

"No I am not going to make you spend more money on me, I shouldn't have been so childish about it in the first place." Eddward replies as he climbs into the vehicle. "It was my own fault that I don't have it anymore." He closes the door in an attempt to end the conversation.

"Alright kiddo." Tony says to the closed door then turns to make his way around the vehicle to the driver's side. When they made it home the depression was still evident on Eddward's face and as he went up the stairs he could hear his mother asking his father what was wrong with him. He went to his room and closed the door not wanting to be disturbed by his mother's concerned questions or his step-sister nagging him to play video games with her. All too soon however he hears the gentle tap at his door. Without permission the door slowly opens and his mother's gentle face peaks around to find him lying on his bed face down head buried into his pillow.

"You alright baby? You want to talk about it?" His mother sits down on the bed laying her hand on his back and gently rubbing his shoulder blades. She was trying to coerce him into rolling over to face her, an attempt which failed.

"Yes mother I am alright and no I don't want to talk about it." He was desperately trying to conceal his hurt from her, not wanting to worry her anymore then he already does. She knew her son was the object of many a bullies wrath. She did her best to be the pillar of strength that he needed.

"Alright sweetie, I am here if you need me, dinner should be ready soon if you want to come down and join us." With that said she kissed him on the back of his head, got up and left the room closing the door behind her. When dinner was done Eddward went downstairs and fixed him a bowl of chili with pepper jack cheese and Frito chips. Unfortunately he was still not in the mood for company and took it up to his room. Where he ate and finished his homework before going to bed for the evening.

The rest of the year was uneventful as stated before in regards to his sexuality. Other than a few curios event regarding Eddy, which made Double D question Eddy's sexuality, but could not be proven. Such things like, Eddy wanting them to work themselves up so they could compare sizes using their fingers, of course, to show how big they are. Or when they were in the boys restroom together Eddy would use the urinal next to Double D, Eddward could have sworn Eddy was checking out his junk, but was too scared to look to confirm his suspicions.

Thankfully the school year was over soon enough and sleep over's where planned regularly between the three friends during the summer. Good times and memories were made, Double D only hoped that things would stay like this forever, that his friends would be by his side and that their friendship could survive any and all turmoil's that the future might bring upon them. Most of all that inevitable time, in which he would have to come out to the world.


	2. Hope

Chapter 2- 7th grade Hope

 **A/N This chapter will contain a few instances of bullying and homophobia. Read with caution if any of these are a trigger for you.**

A month before his seventh grade year started, Eddward went to the junior high school to sign up for the extra curricula's, to round out his experience there. The event was held in the schools lunch room. All the tables that normally filled the room had been folded and rolled against the walls. So to make room for the smaller tables, these housed each activity available to the students. There were tables for all the usual sports and a few others were for different clubs. The one that caught Double D's eye was the table set up for the school's band class. Music after all had been proven to be beneficial to people with interests in math and science. Double D and his mother approached the table set up with different musical instruments; a few examples of brass, woodwind and percussion instruments were present. Behind the table stood a middle aged man with completely white hair and what could only be described as a Doc Brown hair cut. The gentleman was currently talking to another parent standing with their child. Eddward and his mother perused the display of instruments, while waiting for the man to finish his current conversation. Edd's mother pointed toward the trumpet "What do you think of that one? It looks pretty cool hmm."

Edd just shrugged his shoulders, continuing to look at the different instruments. Beside the trumpet there was a clarinet, trombone, flute and saxophone. Neatly set on the floor beside the table where a few different types of drums. As Edd spotted the saxophone his eyes widened and he was pretty certain which instrument he wanted to play that year. He reached out his hand and placed it upon the instrument, as though trying to form a lasting bond with it . "I believe I would like to try this one mother." He said as he picked up the instrument getting a better feel for it in his hands and presenting it for his mother's approval.

"A beautiful instrument isn't it?" Looking up Edd and his mother noticed that the grey haired Doc Brown look alike had finished his conversation and was examining Edd as he held the saxophone.

"Y-yes it is." Edd said sheepishly as he started to put the sax back down, as though he had over stepped some boundary that shouldn't have be crossed.

The gentlemen just gently smiled. "You can hold it, that's why they are here." Turning to Edd's mother he held out his hand and continued. "I am Mr. Zimmerman, one of the school's band teachers."

Shaking his hand and returning the gently smile Edd's mother spoke. "I am Leslie and this is my son Eddward." Gesturing toward Edd with her free hand, Mr. Zimmerman released her hand and extended it to Edd.

"It's good to meet the both of you." Smile still in place, he glanced between the both of them to emphasize that he was addressing them both. But turned his attention back to Edd and continued. "I take it your interested in learning how to play the saxophone."

"I was considering it, it is quite beautiful." Edd meekly replied turning the sax in his hands examining it. Intrigued by its intricate design, the mechanics that formed the whole of the instrument was like looking at a piece of art in Edd's eyes.

"Yes it is, and makes music just as beautifully. There are three types of that instrument alto is the one your currently holding. Tenor is deeper in sound to the alto and the baritone is even deeper." Mr. Zimmerman motioned to the instrument in Edd's hands. Edd gently handed him the instrument and watched as he put the instrument to his mouth and played several notes, giving Eddward a feel for the sound it made.

Edd's eyes lit up as he heard the rich and vibrant sounds coming from it. Turning to his mother who, when she saw his face, knew that there was no convincing him otherwise. She was just thankful that his father slept during the day while Edd was at school. "I guess were getting a saxophone."

With that proclamation Edd's face lit up with an exquisite smile, his mother turned her attention back to Mr. Zimmerman and began discussing rentals versus purchasing the instrument outright. Edd couldn't wait to get his hands on his new saxophone, before leaving they signed him up for the class. Then made their way to downtown Peach Creek to a music store and purchase him a gently used saxophone. It might have not been brand new, but to Edd it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his short life. With the new acquisition his excitement for the upcoming school year had nearly tripled.

Of course that story changed on the first day of school, his excitement was replaced by the reminder that school meant bullies. Quickly the thing he had been excited about was tarnished a little. Band class for the seventh graders was first period, and several students were already in the classroom, trying their new "toys" out. The room was tiered into three steps, so the seat behind you was raised slightly higher than yours, and was in a semi circular formation with a podium standing in front, dead center. The room was a chaotic mixture of bad musical notes and students talking, without the teacher there to restore order, Eddward could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. Edd quickly found an empty seat laying his sax's case on the floor beside his seat, opening the case he removed the pieces to assemble the instrument. As Edd was putting his saxophone together he felt a rough tap on his shoulder, turning around he was confronted with a familiar face. A bully from his former elementary school and what appeared to be some new lackeys at his side. I mean seriously they just seem to run in packs, whoever being the meanest was their alpha. This particular alpha's name was Tim, and his brand of humor was humiliation.

"Hey Edwina, me and the boy's were wondering if you where really a man?" Tim said looking around at his colleagues to gauge their laughs of approval.

"I can assure you Timothy that I am a male." Edd stated trying not to look flustered.

"O really, I said a man, so you growing any grass around the tree then?" Tim said a little louder then Edd was comfortable with.

"Yeah, have your nuts dropped yet ya sissy?" Tim's friend to his right said just as load.

"By the sound of his voice I'd say not!" the friend to the left practically bellowed with laughter. With that Edd turned around trying to hide his face from the boy's behind him.

"O, is Edwina going to cry? Tim said in a mock pouting voice.

Edd knew he couldn't hide how flustered he was getting anymore, he refused to turn to face his assailants, instead keeping his eyes on the front right of the room at the door to the class. Praying the teacher would arrive and with their presence the bullying would stop until the end of class. From there he would just have to count on his speed to get him out of any further entanglements with these boy's. The clock being above the door he could easily see that he had five minutes left till salvation would arrive. To his left he could see out of his peripheral vision someone leaning forward looking at him.

"His face looks like it's going to pop." Looking slightly to his left Edd saw it was Kevin Barr, another one of his bullies from elementary school. How could Edd not have noticed that he had put himself right smack in the middle of the vipers nest. Guess he figured band class would have been a safe haven from people like this. How wrong he was and he was just finding out that his hopes for enjoying this class had been hurled upon the rocks.

"Come on Edwina don't be mad at us, we thought faggots like you enjoyed people talk about their junk." Tim said as he pushed Eddward's head forward and to the right rather roughly.

"I think he does, he's just shy, aren't you Edwina?" Kevin chimed in.

Eddward wasn't going to give these boys a response; it wasn't that he was scared; he just knew that to say anything would be throwing fuel on the proverbial fire. Lucky for Edd the bell rang, both band teachers arrived and rearranged the class; Mr. Zimmerman was keeping the woodwind sections which included the saxophones, oboes, bassoon, clarinets and flutes. While the other teacher took the brass and percussion sections, to Edd's surprise Tim and his lackeys were in the brass section. Maybe there was hope yet, unfortunately Kevin wasn't moving, well hopefully he wasn't in the same section as him maybe big bad butch Kevin was playing the flute. Edd snickered at the thought of the football player playing such an instrument, not that there was anything wrong with the instrument, he just knew it didn't fit Kevin's picture of masculinity.

When the instrumental sections where all divided up Edd's heart sank a little more, not only was Kevin in the same section as he, having also chosen to play the saxophone, but he was sitting right next to him. Edd was to find that this sitting arrangement was never to change as long as Kevin was in the class. Mr. Zimmerman went over basic fundamentals of reading sheets of music and counting out and identifying the different rhythms. Finally explaining to each sections of instruments how to hold their particular instrument and how it should be put in their mouth. For instance the saxophone player must curl their bottom lip over their teeth and bit down on the mouth piece. Explaining that each different type of note will take different degrees of pressure from their mouth, that is why in amateurs you sometimes get that squealing noise when they miss the note.

The last ten minutes of class was left for the students to converse and make introductions if they didn't go to the same schools before. Edd disassembled his instrument and put it in its case sat back up and noticed Kevin looking at him. Turning to face him Edd lifted a brow silently asking him what he was looking at.

"Sup fag, what made you chose this class?" Kevin asks while chewing on a piece of gum.

Not appreciating the name calling still, that fact being pretty evident on his face, Edd could only bring himself to ask. "The same could be asked of you Mr. Barr, never thought band class would fit into your social status."

"Well figured I could learn how to play a little and attract me some chicks, by playing them some sexy ass shit." Kevin said with a smirk playing across his lips. "Not that you would know anything about that shit." With the conversation at an end as far as Kevin was concerned he turned his attention to the goth kid on the other side of him. What little time was left Edd did his best to blend into the chair he was sitting in to avoid anymore unwanted negative attention. First day of school and first period of that day, Edd was pretty sure all the kids he didn't know where going to have a set notion about him. That notion being, that he was a limp wristed screaming queen, who threw glitter in the air while squealing like a fan girl. The rest of the day the fates were not any kinder to him, having gym class with both Kevin and Tim and a few others with just one of them at a time. So few of his classes were with his friends, only having one class with Ed, lunch was the only time he got to see them both. By lunch time Edd's fears had been confirmed, that word had been spread through the bullying underworld that he was a queer and to make certain he was aware they knew it. If today was any indication of how his Junior High and High School life was going to be like, he was going to be glad when it was over.


	3. Confusion

Chapter 3- 7th grade Confusion

 **A/N As in the last chapter this one will have bullying homophobia and sexual harassment. Remember I did warn you in the beginning that there was not going to be much fluff here.**

The school year proceeded as usual, with normal classes everyone is expected to take. History, science, math, PE, band, study hall and being a teacher's aid rounded out Eddward's day. Between classes Eddward would do his best to hide himself among the throng of students, making his way to class as quickly as possible, the best way to avoid being bullied is not to be noticed. He had taken up caring a bag everywhere he went housing his books inside, after discovering that his locker was right in-between Kevin's and Tim's. Come on how many times can the fates kick him in the nuts before they were done with him this year. When winter rolled around Edd found himself in a little bit of trouble, the fact he carried a duffle bag full of his books and wearing a trench coat because of the weather, a few people had started a rumor around the school that he was going to shot up the place. His parents were not very pleased to say the least with the whole situation, having been called into the office to straighten up the mess that the rumor mill had started. It took a lot of explaining by both Edd and his parents, but they were eventually able to convince both the principle and vice principle that Eddward was no threat to anyone.

Along with winter came indoor sports for PE, which normally meant basketball, running laps and that ever so dreaded teenage torture chamber know as dodge ball. Somehow the bullies and popular kids would be on one team and the outcast and rejects on the other. Edd was pretty convinced that the PE teacher just enjoyed seeing the carnage that ensued considering he was the one who decided the teams, which in his words was for fairness, though it was clearly not. Several large red balls (why are dodge balls always red, is it to simulate blood or something) where placed along the center line. The usual rules applied, you can deflect with a ball not your hands and be safe, you can catch a ball and the person who threw it was out, and of course hitting someone with a ball tagged them out. Eddward being as meek and mild as he was just leaned against the back wall, yet again trying the avoidance technique, if you don't give them something to gloat over they might leave you alone and loss interest for the time being. Best case he would be hit quickly and out of the game, worst case lone survivor. But yet again the fates intervene, a few minutes into the first game (yes the coach was sadistic in multi gaming this shit) Edd was spotted by Kevin who pointed him out to Tim.

"Hey Edwina, catch." Time yells, while he, Kevin and one of their lackeys threw their balls straight at Eddward with as much force as they could muster. Edd barely having any time to react from when he heard Tim call out to when he realized what was happening could only do one thing curl up and protect himself. Unfortunately for Edd fear overtook him and he let out a high pitched scream, which most boys his age would describe as quite girly. Getting the desired effect plus the bonus of the scream set the boys laughing, which earned Kevin a ball to the face while he wasn't paying attention. Thoroughly embarrassed but slightly satisfied at seeing Kevin smacked in the face with a ball, Edd walked off the court to sit on the sidelines.

After the second game ended, ending roughly the same way as the first game, with the popular kids winning. The boys and girls went to their respective locker rooms to change into their regular school attire. As much as Edd would have loved to skip this part of the whole affair that is gym class, the PE teacher wouldn't hear of it. That man apparently was still under the delusion that bullying builds character, he must have never been on the receiving end of it. Edd made his way to his locker which was in the corner of the first row. Edd sat on the bench and brought his foot up to start untying his gym shoes when two sets of feet appeared in front of him.

"Hey faggot, you want to suck my dick?" Tim's voice bellowed out roughly.

Edd raised his eyes up a little to begin to look in the direction of Tim's face, but noticed that Tim had his hand stuck down his pants and his finger hanging out of his zipper. Edd quickly cast his eyes back down to his shoes and continued to untie them.

"O man I think he looked at it." Kevin's voice exclaimed excitedly

"Yeah I know you want my big dick, faggot." Tim continued as he leaned his hips toward Edd and flicked his figure in Edd's hair. Edd swatted his finger away and turned a little so his face wasn't in front of Tim's crotch.

"He touched it; he really tried to touch it." Kevin's excitement to the situation was increasing a little.

"It's just his finger Kevin, now if it really was his dick, I would wonder whom the real faggots in this situation would be." Edd replied as nonchalantly as he could.

"What did you say to me you little queer?" Tim yelled pulling his hand out of his pants and grabbing a hold of Edd by the shirt and yanking him to his feet, how unsanitary.

"If it went over your head Timothy I would be happy to explain a little more clearly. I was simply pointing out the irony of the fact that you were trying to show me your dick and then having the audacity to refer to me as a faggot." With that explanation Tim shoved Edd into the locker bank rather hard. I mean really how someone would dare talk back to Tim. Kevin looked on with an expression of a spectator at the roman coliseum waiting for a gladiator to be gutted.

With the sudden load noise of metal being hit the PE teacher came out of his office, which is in the hallway of the boy's locker room, yelling "What in the Sam hill is going on out here?" Though the PE teacher didn't see nothing wrong with a little bullying, he didn't want to have to explain why a student ended up with a black eye or broken nose on his watch.

Having alerted the teacher Tim let go of Edd's shirt and yelled back around the corner. "Nothing coach, Edd just fell into the lockers is all." Satisfied with the obvious lie the coach turned around and went back into his office closing the door.

Tim and Kevin not wanting to put their sports carrier at the school in jeopardy turned and headed to the hallway to await the bell. Tim muttered a few homophobic slurs under his breath as he pushed Edd once more before leaving. Edd finished changing, grabbed his duffle and joined the other boys in the hall, sitting on his duffle as he waited. Tim still in a playful mood came back up to Edd grabbed him by both sides of his head and started thrusting his hips toward his face saying. "You're just at the right level queer."

Edd push Tim back and stood up, being close to the coaches door ensured no violence from Tim. "Timothy I am beginning to think that you are transposing your true nature upon me and hiding it in the guise of tormenting me." Tim of course didn't seem to catch on again. "If you can't figure it out Timothy I suggest you find a dictionary." And with that the bell rang releasing the herd into the halls. Edd picked up his duffle and Timothy walked backwards facing Edd.

"I left you a present, fag." Tim winked and pointed to Edd's duffle. Double D waited for the hall to the locker room to empty before setting down his duffle and opening it, to find lying on top a pair of unfamiliar boxers. Edd pulled out a pen from the side pocket of his duffle picking up the boxers with it walked back and deposited said boxers and pen in the trash can then headed to his next class.

A week passed with nary an incident. Edd was in his first period band class, they were preparing for the holiday concert and Double D was enjoying playing all the Christmas music. Several pieces being a mesh of several standards rolled into one piece flowing seamlessly into each other. As stated previously Edd's position next to Kevin in the seating arrangement never changed. Your seating in the row was determined by your grade and every time they were graded on a piece of music they preformed for the teacher, Kevin would find a way to mess with Edd's instrument to ruin his performance. There for leaving Edd having to sit next to him and giving Kevin ample opportunities to torture him.

The saxophone section being in the back of the class because the brass and percussion sections where in a different room, no one was behind them. It being the last ten minutes of class, there for it was free time for the student's, the teacher was busy helping a student with a few questions. Taking advantage of the teachers distraction and the distracted nature of the rest of the class Kevin turns to Edd and says quietly "So I looked up what you said to Tim last week." He looks around to make sure no one is paying attention and continues. "Why don't you let me show you how much I can transpose onto you."

Edd just looked at him confused; Kevin was trying to sound smart but was unfortunately failing miserably at it. It all became perfectly clear when Kevin reached over looking around at the same time and laid his hand on Double D's crotch and gently squeezed, effectively grabbing his penis threw his jeans. Edd was momentarily in shock and blushed furiously but quickly recovered remembering social norms and the fact that if caught it would only solidify other bully's opinion of his sexuality. Kevin could on the other hand easily explain it away as picking on him giving a lie here or there to reinforce it. Edd quickly pushed Kevin's hand away and turned his body to face the other direction. "Have it your own way then dork, I was just trying to be nice."

"Of course Kevin you were just trying to be nice, if it helps you sleep at night I'll let you continue your illusion." Edd was so fluster but trying not to show it, he didn't know what to think. Of course Tim always made crude comments and sexual innuendoes toward him, but he had never tried to grab him there like Kevin had. It just didn't make sense, was Kevin trying to tell him something or just making fun of him. He was pretty sure Kevin could feel him through his jeans and there for knew that he was touching him there. " _Stop over thinking it, he is just teasing you like he always does"_ Edd thought. This day, this week, hell this half of the year had all been too much for Edd to handle he was looking forward to the winter break and some safety away from these delinquents.


	4. Dazed

Chapter 4-9th grade Dazed

 **A/N This chapter will contain drug use**

After the winter break Edd was pleasantly surprised to discover that both Tim and Kevin had dropped band, apparently they were not getting the "chick magnet" effect they were hoping for by being able to play some "sexy ass shit" to girls. The rest of seventh grade and eighth grade years went by with no big problems just the usual bullying every once in a while but the sexual innuendoes had ceased. Apparently someone had put it more bluntly to Tim that his actions were making him "look like a fucking queer", and he couldn't have that now could he. Sadly as well Tim and two of his friends were in a car crash right before ninth grade, fueled by alcohol. Tim survived his two friends on the other hand did not, this changed Tim in many ways. When he came back to school after being released from the hospital it was like a dark cloud followed him around always looming over his head. Edd later discovered that it was Tim driving and that he blamed himself for his friends deaths, so painful were the memories for Tim that he transferred out to another school two weeks later. When Edd saw him later in life after high school, Tim having married and had two children, Tim apologized profusely to Edd for the way he treated him during their school years.

But back to the story at hand, during his ninth grade year Edd had started dating a nice young lady, Angelica. It's not like he wanted to deceive her, there are just certain norms that society expects, even at this young age. Edd was fourteen about to turn fifteen in a few short months and having a girlfriend was not uncommon at that age. Not to have had a girlfriend even for a dork like him would have brought up to many questions from those paying attention. So Edd went looking and choose someone that not only was somewhat physically pleasing to the eye but could hold a decent conversation. She was shorter then Edd, only reaching five foot, but was already well developed as a woman with a healthy bosom, long flowing dirty blonde hair and well defined hips. Her dark brown eyes reminded Edd of chocolate and a crooked little half smile played across her lips whenever she was happy making Edd think she was up to something. Though she was pretty in Edd's eyes, she still sat on the same social rung as he did in the schools hierarchy, they have been dating for three months now.

Ed and Eddy on the other hand had started mellowing out a little, Ed had really started maturing growing out of the nonsensical ramblings of his youth. Ed's taste in music was not something Double D personally enjoyed but would tolerate for his friends sake, and Edd just could not understand the whole gangster rap genre. Ed's attire had also changed to suite his musical taste, baggy pants hats cocked to the side, bandanas, overly large T-shirts with this or that rapper on it. Edd could never, at that point, understand the effects of pear pressure, but if the change made his friend happy he was all for it. Ed still loved his horror movies and comics so Double D knew the change was more esthetic than anything else.

Eddy well was still Eddy, loud and obnoxious always thought he was right and that his plans were flawless. Not that he was doing scams anymore just that whenever he had an idea there was no talking him out of it, it was gold in his eyes, regardless of whether it got them in trouble or not. Eddy Had hit a growth spurt around mid seventh grade year and was now around five foot ten inches tall and had lost his baby fat and really thinned out. Ed and Eddy had started spending more time together separate from Double D, coming up with one excuse after another as to leave him behind. It was this coming weekend that Edd would find out the reasons why. After the last class of the day while Edd was retrieving the books he would need during the weekend to complete his homework, Angelica came up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, "Hey Hun."

"Greetings Angelica, what brings you here, you're going to miss your bus." Edd states nervously leaning in for a quick kiss. Kissing her was a bit weird for Edd; he just hoped that she didn't notice how awkward it was for him.

"Just wanted to see what you were up to this weekend." Angelica looked a little upset her brows furrowing, _damn she knows,_ is all Edd could think.

"I am doing my homework tonight and then spending time with mother and father, they have the night off tonight. Tomorrow spending time with Ed and Eddy, we are going to see that new horror movie Ed wants to see. They Came from Outer Space or something like that." Edd said the last part gesturing with his hand as though he was reading a bill board. "Then Sunday we are going to the mall in Summerville with my mother."

"Oh." Angelica's expression changed looking a little sad now, she cast her eyes down to Edd's feet. "I was just hoping to see you sometime this weekend, we just don't hang out a lot recently." It's not that Edd didn't want to spend time with her, he just wasn't very comfortable with the other activities that dating a girl entailed. He really didn't want to hurt her by not being comfortable performing such acts, this kept him from wanting to be alone with her and it wasn't her fault that he was the way he was.

Still feeling guilty by hurting her with ignoring being around her, he suggested. "Would you be interested in accompanying us to the movie on Saturday?"

With his question Angelica's eyes shot back up to his and her crooked half smile danced across her face. "Cool, we can hang out after as well." She added excitedly.

"We will see, if it's not too late we can, remember I have plans for the next day." Edd stated trying to hide his fluster at her statement.

"Oh come on, it will be fun." She begged Edd still looked apprehensive. "I won't take no for an answer just accept it already." With that she tiptoed up and kissed him on the corner of his mouth and walked away giving him a little wave thus ending the discussion about it.

"We're meeting at the downtown theater at 6." He called after her then completed getting the rest of his books from his locker and ran to his bus. The rest of the evening went as planned, he finished his homework which included practicing his saxophone, then he had dinner with his parents they then watched a movie together "My Fair Lady". His parents were fans of the classics, as though the past was full of culture the present was somehow lacking. When he woke up the next day he did his choirs for the day and took a shower, then practiced on his sax again trying to pass the time productively while waiting for noon to arrive, knowing Ed and Eddy wouldn't be awake until then.

Once the clock struck twelve he put his instrument gently away, locked the door and made his way to Ed's. It was a beautiful fall day the leaves were changing and falling from their trees leaving sidewalks, streets and yards strewn with the colors of autumn. Each step through a pile of leaves was a crunching rustling noise that delighted Edd's ears. When he arrived at the door to Ed's house he knocked a few times and heard the shuffling of feet on the other side. When the door opened Ed's mother smiled. "Hello Eddward, they are in his room."

"Thank you, Mrs. Samuels." Edd said as he entered the house, heading his way to the back toward the stairs to the basement Edd could smell the thick scent of incense becoming stronger once he opened the door.

While walking down the stairs Ed yelled up "who's there?" A few rustling sounds and Eddy whispering "Put it out man" coming from down below.

"Its jut me Ed." Edd stopped and leaned down so he could see his friends threw the stairs banister.

"Hey Double D, come on down man," Ed said releasing a big cloud of smoke he had been holding in. "I just got that Moral Kombat game if you want to rip Eddy's head off a few times." Edd reached the bottom of the stairs and headed to the couch. The room consisted of a full size bed, nightstand and dresser on the far side of the room from the stairs. Between was located a leather couch with matching leather recliner with black glass coffee table sitting in front of the couch strewn with games comic books and a few other odds and ends. The TV was sitting against the wall in front of the furniture all of it sitting on an old area rug with a print of a tiger on it. A few posters of half naked girls straddling motor cycles or across sports cars along with B-grade horror movies littered the walls. Ed was in the recliner Eddy on the couch, the side closet to the recliner, Double D taking the opposite side. Ed tossed the controller over to Double D, typical rules you lose you give up the controller. They played for about an hour, Edd winning more games against Eddy then Ed, when he was asked by the other two to go grab them all sodas.

Upon returning and passing out the drinks Ed spoke. "Hey Double D, we were talkin while you're gone and we would like to share something with ya." He gave Eddy a look, as though he was passing the conversation off to him.

"Ya, but we don't want you to freak or give us a lecture ok, like you did when Ed started smoking." Eddy motioned with his hand invitingly as his arm was lying on the back of the couch. "Come and chill with us." As Eddy finished, Ed produced what appeared to be a rolled cigar.

"What is that?" Edd questioned pointing to the object in Ed's hand

"It's a blunt man," Ed stated bobbing his hand holding the item up then back down to his lap. Edd looked confused. "Cannabis, Mary Jane, Pot, wacky weed."

"Marijuana! You two have been smoking Marijuana!" Edd said loudly a little shocked at his friends.

Eddy shushed him holding up his hands to try and keep Edd from going into lecture mode. "Ok ya we have" Ed said matter-of-factly. "Just listen before you start freaking on us ok. We enjoy it, we aren't hurting anyone by doing this, we do it to decompress from the stress of school or life in general." Ed was rolling the blunt between his fingers thinking on how to word his next statement. "We are good friends Double D, and we trust you, that's why we want to share this with you. Help you expand your mind a little, have new experiences, help you not be the dork people think you are man."

"And this is going to help me have those new experiences is it?" Edd wasn't so sure about it, though he had heard both sides of the argument. One side made it sound as though anyone who did this was doomed to do heavier drugs down the line and lead to a life of depravity and crime. The other side made it out to be a way to expand your mind, help you contemplate on many things in existence, to mellow with your friends and enjoy the vibe of life. A totally social experience, which Edd would agree he needed more of.

Ed leaned forward in the recliner still rolling the blunt around in his fingers. "Ya man, it opens doors in your mind, allows you to see things differently, along with a nice mellow high that will help you relax and ride the waves of life." Ed held out the blunt in Edd's direction. "It's up to you man, we won't think any less of you. But we would like you to come along for the ride and have fun with us."

Edd hesitated a moment, going over the things he had heard both from his friend just a moment ago and all the outside sources he had encountered. Edd had to agree that his life up to this point had been pretty straight forward walking the line of what society expected of him, finally his teenage rebellious side which had been growing lately won out. If this was the worst thing society as a whole would hate him for he would thank his lucky stars. He reached out and took the blunt from his friend's hand. Eddy clapped him on the shoulder and handed him a lighter. "Ok, you don't want to hit it too hard at first."

Edd put the blunt in his mouth, holding it awkwardly, lighting the lighter and bringing the flame to the tip drawing on the blunt gingerly. His friends looking on eagerly, they were waiting for the inevitable. Finding it hard to get anything he pulled harder on it, getting a rush of smoke he choked and coughed, sputtering out a plume of smoke. Both his friends laughed heartily at this, Edd looked at them both seriously still coughing. Ed waved him off stifling his laughter. "It's alright man, coughing opens up your lungs and helps you to draw in more smoke. Hit it again just a little slower this time."

Edd did as instructed, "Now hold it." Eddy added, and Edd passed the blunt to him. "Now let it out." D complied. "You also want to hold it more like this, makes it easier to pass, especially if your smoking a normal joint." Eddy demonstrated holding it between his thumb and forefinger and the body of the blunt going parallel with the palm of his hand. Eddy took an extended hit and passed it to Ed.

Ed took a draw off the blunt then spoke his voice harsh from trying to speak and hold the smoke at the same time. "Don't worry man you'll get use to it." Ed reassured as he passed the blunt back to Double D. He exhaled, "Now Just hit it again, lay back and enjoy the buzz." Then Leaned back into the recliner, Eddy opened a little box on the coffee table and extracted a cone incent lighting it then placing it on the little glass burner. Edd was taking another hit and little pop came from the Blunt.

Eddy snickered looking at Ed "You missed a seed man."

"Shit happens." They passed the blunt around several times. As it got too small to hold safely without burning yourself Ed pulled out a set of hemostats from the same box Eddy had gotten the incense from and attached it to the end of the blunt. By this time Edd wasn't just stoned, he was wasted, he was so stoned his address was in Bedrock. Everything was funny, watching the characters on the video game rip each other apart was hilarious. Eddy face planting on the stairs trying to go to the restroom sent him falling off the couch with laughter. "You alright there D?" Ed said to his friend on the floor.

"O I am just fine, never been better." Edd replied between breaths and laughs. It was only 2pm by this time and the boy's had a few hours left till they had to meet Angelica at the movies.

 **A/N- My apologies had a rough time finding a stopping point, too much to cover with this part of the story to put in one chapter. This chapter is already at 2.6k got to split it.**


	5. Yaoi Girl

Chapter 5-9th grade YAOI Girl

 **A/N- This chapter will contain drug use and sexual situations** ** **Also I would like to apologize if any language is misogynistic some teenage boys can be that way, I personally do not agree with it, it is only used for a sense of realism.**** ** **O ya sorry it hasn't got to the Kevedd action just yet, back story and all, I'll get there.****

The rest of the time hanging out at Ed's consisted of playing a few more rounds of Mortal Kombat and watching a horror movie, one of Clive Barkers classics, and maintaining their buzz by hitting on a pipe every now and then. Edd had noticed a few of the side effects during this time, a dry mouth that could not be sated by any means the body could naturally produce. Eddy called it cotton mouth, so the boy's would take turns running up the stairs to get all of them sodas. Edd was also experiencing what the other two called the munchies, lucky Ed had a nice supply of chips down stairs already for the day.

Midway through the movie Ed's mother came halfway down the stairs and peaking through the banister. "Are you boy's hungry?" Edd was still ravenous the chips were not cutting it, "I have some sandwiches ready for you guys."

"Thanks mom, I'll be right up." Ed called as he was reaching for the remote. As Mrs. Samuels turned around and went back up the stairs, Edd started experiencing the third side effect, paranoia.

His stomach went into a knot and his mind raced with possibilities, everything from Ed's mother crying over her son and his two friends delinquent behavior to her calling the cops to put a stop to such behavior and get them the help that they so needed. Meekly Edd spoke as his friend Ed as he went toward the stairs casually. "Do you think she noticed?"

"Noticed what? That we be high? Ed said emphasizing the last word. "Ya, probably." Noticing Edd's worried look with that last statement he held out both his hands palms facing Double D in a gesture demonstrating he need to chill and said " Woo man it's cool, she knows, she just doesn't want me doing it out somewhere I can get caught." He paused taking in a breath lowering his hands. "She figures its better here and where she can keep an eye on me then for me to sneak behind her back. So relax man its cool." Noticing Edd was calming down a little about the situation, he turns and runs up the stairs to retrieve the sandwiches. It was now shortly after 4pm.

"Ya his moms been really cool about it, she just says we are not to sell it or bring anyone here we don't trust or she doesn't know." Eddy explained a little more. "Wish my parents were that cool."

Edd still having the mindset that society had instilled in him just thought to himself " _Is it really cool, or is she just trying to be his friend more than his mother."_ But who was he to judge what good parenting was, barely getting to see his own most of the time and if it kept his friend out of the eye of the law he wasn't going to complain. All in all Double D had enjoyed his experience with the drug, though he understood the consequences if caught, he had decided that maybe a looser more outgoing Edd would be more able to attract people as friends or more. Edd at this point in his life, though having a few experiences all of them just being oral sex, was getting frustrated at ever going farther. Not to mention he was losing hope of ever having what his straight classmates had, a real relationship with someone he was truly interested in having it with.

After Ed came back with a plate of sandwiches and three cans of soda they continued the movie while devouring the food like ravenous dogs. After the movie they past the remainder of the time till they had to leave for the theater by listening to some of Ed's music, which to Double D seemed to glorify sex drugs and money in that order. Before they were to leave Ed packed yet another bowl "One for the road man, you'll enjoy the movie so much better stoned." Ed only lived a few blocks from the theater so the trek wouldn't be a long one.

"But I am going to be meeting Angelica there I really don't want to be blitzed Ed." Double D was fidgeting with his fingers.

"You invited your bitch." Eddy said crudely "This was supposed to be a guy's night, bro's before hoes D."

"Well Eddy we don't get to see each other very often with school, chores and hanging out with you two. I didn't see the problem with asking her to come along with us." Edd retorted not wanting to put up with Eddy's rude behavior.

Ed light the bowl took a draw and handed it to Eddy. "Look Double D we got you covered, she won't even notice." They finished the bowl, the whole time Eddy was making snide comments about Double D turning their night into a date night. Ed tried keeping the peace even resorting to smacking Eddy on the back of the head once. Once finished, Ed pulled from his little box of tricks eye drops and a bottle of cologne, he sprayed a generous amount on himself and Double D then handed it to Eddy. "Tilt your head back." Double D did as instructed, Ed undid the top of the eye drops and placed a drop in each of D's eyes. "You're going to have to get use to doing that yourself ok." Edd nodded side effect number four blood shot eyes. They left for the theater and as they walked they talked about a great many things mostly philosophical views on their position in society. You see some people tend to get the impression that they are some great philosopher when they are high, most of the time it's just an opinion wrapped in a haze.

When they reached the theater on time Angelica was patiently waiting for them near the ticket both. The theater was an old time movie theater where the ticket booth was located on the outside of the building and you entered through double doors made of wood with glass panels to the right or left of the booth. The V shaped over hang billboard read the names of the movies currently being shown with the big light bulbs encircling the boards already lit. They approached Angelica, Double D placed one hand on her left cheek and kissed the other one. "You been waiting long?" A smirk played across his face.

"No not long." She looked him in the eyes."You alright hun?" she had caught a whiff of too much cologne and what she was certain was weed. Angelica was many things but she was not ignorant of the trappings many teenage boys got caught up in.

"I'm fine, everything's fine, why do you ask?" The paranoia kicking into over drive with a shot of nitro. He could only imagine her reaction if she figured out he was stoned, poor sweet innocent Angelica, ya innocent.

"No reason. Are we ready? The movie starts soon." She said putting her arm around Edd's and leading him to the ticket booth.

They entered and headed to the snack counter, all three boys bought a soda but no popcorn, too much salt for cotton mouth, instead they got nachos with extra cheese. Hmmmm cheese, Angelica got the popcorn. They climbed the stairs to the left to the second theater, being an older theater this second room was the balcony that was used during segregation for the African American population of the town. It had been enclosed so it could house a second screen when the theater was renovated about a decade ago. The Movie to the three Ed's was a comedy of terror, they would make comments about the cliché ways people died or separated to go check out that noise. Angelica wasn't finding it as humorous, she would bury her face in Double D's shoulder at overly gruesome scenes, D held her hand as much as he could feeling a terribly hard squeeze when one of the characters was mangled by farm equipment while running through a corn field trying to getting away from the aliens.

When the movie was over Angelica couldn't have been happier, horror really wasn't her cup of tea. As they exited she had her arm around Edd's once again, while the other two Ed's relived some of the more gruesome deaths behind them with a few lively low volume shrieks for emphasis. Once exiting the building they took a right and got off the main drag to a side street where they paused Edd wanting to bid farewell to Angelica."Well that was fun."

"Ya it was interesting." She said as she shifted her weight from heel to toe. "So, do you want to come over and hang out for a little while?" Her crooked half smile on her face.

Edd looked at his watch, "Its 8:30 Angelica and I was planning on crashing at Ed's house tonight to make sure they got up for the trip tomorrow."

"They can come." She was a little more eager then she wanted to be. She had her claws in Edd tonight and she wasn't letting go without a fight, she was improvising the plan one step at a time, if she even had a plan.

"Nah little lady, I got to crash soon if I am going to get up at a decent time to go tomorrow." Ed said, Double D caught the end of a exchange between him and Eddy that ended with them clasping their right hands together in a over exaggerated movement pulling each other in for a one armed hug with the left arm then releasing going into a fist bump with the right hand.

"I can hang." Eddy said. "Our parents already think we are staying at Lumpy's anyway, I am down for a little private party." He came over standing between the two of them and putting his arm around them both. "It will be fun." They said their goodbye's to Ed and made the fifteen minute walk to Angelica's were they entered the house threw the side door that led straight into the basement where her room was. What is it with teenagers and basement bedrooms anyways?

They sat around and talked for a little while, the usual teenage angst stuff. Hopes and dreams, a few school issues, who's been dating who along with who broke up, who's fucking who along with who's not getting enough Eddy of course. During the conversation of college Eddy fished in his pocket and pulled out a cellophane wrapper of a cigarette pack "Hey Ange, do you mind if we smoke up?" Holding up the wrapper between his thumb and forefinger Eddy gave it a few shacks so it unrolled displaying the weed inside. Edd was a little upset, he wasn't sure how Angelica would react to this, but maybe that's what Eddy was trying to do see if she would freak over something Eddy considered to be a small issue.

"No problem.' Angelica said without missing a beat stepping out of the room for a second and coming back in with a can air freshener. Eddy rolled up the joint and went to hand it to Angelica, she just shook her head. "I don't mind if you all do it, I am just not going to partake, but feel free to relax and enjoy." She sprayed the can around the door to her room then in the heater vents that connected to her room closing them off afterward. She joined the two boys on her queen sized bed leaning against the headboard with the spray can in her lap. They finished the joint rather quickly with a few spays of the air freshener, Angelica continued the conversation but both boys started laughing at the stupidest of things, seeing the blood shot eyes she knew they were suitable high, her crooked half smile across her face she suggested. "How about we play truth or dare?"

Both boys looked at each other and laughed again, wiping away a few tears Eddy said "Ya sure, could be fun." Each boy gave each other mundane dares like handstands or juggle, but in their state of mind they thought they were being impressive.

When it got to Angelica's turn and Edd choose dare that smirk shot across her face. She looked between the two boys catching both their eyes "Double D." she looked meekly nervous."I dare you to suck Eddy's dick" Both boys gave the socially appropriate NO WAY response."O come on, you don't have to do it for very long, let's say twenty seconds."

Both boys looked at each other apprehensively then Eddy spoke "Just twenty seconds right" Angelica nodded excitedly. "Ok, ok but it doesn't leave this room." Eddy leaned back and undid his pants pulling down the front of his tightly whiteys revealing his semi flaccid penis that was slowly elongating.

Even with the evidence that Eddy was a little excited about the situation, I mean it was about to be smacking him in the face, Edd was still concerned that if he gave it his all that his friend would figure it out that he knew what he was doing and might react badly toward him. Yet again fear of discovery can be a terrible thing it makes us put up to many walls. With Eddy exposed Double D slowly reached over taking his member into his hand and shifted it so it was pointing toward Eddy's head. Leaned over so his face was close to the tip, looked at Angelica's excited face and said "Twenty seconds right?" She nodded again not saying a word think she was holding her breath.

Edd opened his mouth and took Eddy in, half heartedly giving it a few tugs as to not alert his friend to his true nature. But he was still getting a response from Eddy, his member grew inside D's mouth the taste of pre-cum was slicked against his tongue. D could have sworn when he slide down Eddy's growing piece that he heard a hiss come from Eddy but it was stifled to quickly for him to be sure. All too soon the twenty seconds was over and Eddy practically jumped up into a sitting position putting his member back in his pants.

It was now Edd's turn and to reassure his friend the he was indeed still heterosexual and that getting your dick sucked by a guy didn't make you gay Edd dared him to kiss Angelica.

"Well seeing how it's my turn next anyways and I know you're going to pick dare, because truth is for wimps, I dare you to kiss her with me D."

"O-ok" was his meek response, truthfully he wasn't expecting any of this. Who knew Angelica was a YAOI fan girl. Who knew his friend would be mildly ok with this. All three brought their faces together and what was supposed to be, at least in their minds, a hot kiss turned out to be a jumbled mess of just tongues rubbing together, AWW the innocents of youth.

It was Angelicas turn again, and she had become addicted to this live action gay porn fest she had created. This time it was Eddy she had go down on Double D, he gave little to no resistance to it. Though he seemed to be enjoying what he was doing, he was up like a flash when time was up. This is how things went with this game, the boys would concentrate their dares around Angelica and she would have them do dirty little things with each other. Masturbation, tons more oral, frothing even got them to sixty nine. Both boys were having a hard time concealing the fact that they were enjoying the attention they were giving each other.

Eddy didn't turn weird until Angelica had one dare she really wanted to see. "I want you two to kiss."

"No way not going to happen." Eddy said matter-of-factly shaking his head. Double D couldn't figure it out, you'll put my dick in your mouth but you won't kiss me when it's just me, to Edd kissing seemed a lot less gay then a blow job any day. A comedian put it best later in Edd's life, _"A straight guy having a three-way with another guy will suck that dick, as long as his toe is on her nipple, he's still straight."_ Eddy got up and walked to the door. "I'm done with this game." Grabbed the handle and turned to Double D "Let's go man."

Edd looked at Angelica apologetically kissed her on the cheek "I'm sorry" and walked toward the door and out of the house

"Ya, I'll see ya." She called meekly after him, ashamed that she got so wrapped up in this side of herself, and maybe pushing Edd away at the same time.

Once they left the house, they started their trek back to Ed's hoping they could get him to open his door for them. "Your girl is a real pervert man." Eddy stated turning his head to the side spitting. "Don't let her turn you into a fag man." Eddy's hetero macho man front was in overdrive now, and Double D was speechless not really sure what to say about it. There was no way he would be able to point out that Eddy was just as gay acting back there without destroying their friendship. "You know, if I was you I would just get rid of her, there's plenty of fish in the sea."

"Just let it go already Eddy." Edd replied. The rest of the walk was done in silence. When they reached Ed's house it was 11:20 at night and all the lights throughout the house where out. They went around back and found the window above Ed's bed, Eddy began tapping on it in hopes of rousing the sleeping giant. When the light tapping didn't work Eddy curled his fist up and banged a little loader on the frame of the window. This had the desired effect, Ed shot up and looked out the window sleepily taking him a few seconds to recognize his friends he then motioned to the front of the house. He made his way up the stairs and to the front door opening it allowing his friends entrance to his house. He closed and locked the door behind them and they all made their way quietly back down to the basement. Ed threw them each their usual blankets and pillows, Eddy took the couch double D the recliner and Ed returned to his bed and turned off the lamp. All three were asleep shortly afterward and tomorrow was nervously awaited by Eddward, not knowing how his friend would react to the night's activities.

 **A/N Woo that was a long one, hope you guys are enjoying it so far. I promise Kevedd interaction next chapter. Let's just hope my mind doesn't keep going off on tangents lol.**


	6. Disbelief

Chapter 6-10th grade. Disbelief

 **A/N its here the Kevedd chapters WooHoo. Warnings Language, sexual suggestive scenes, alcohol use and reference to drug use.**

Shortly after the events of that night, with a lot of pushing by Eddy, Double D called it off with Angelica. She only responded with "I would have been happy to have been your beard." She looked sad but not upset.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Was all Edd could get out, hurting her was never in his plans. But the unfortunate sometimes happens and casualties of the heart line the road to happiness.

"I know what I saw, and you can't lie to me about it." She looked at him with seriousness in her eyes. "I wouldn't expect anything from you, I would just help you hide from the jerks that infest our school. I would be nothing more than your friend Eddward." Saying the last part in a more pleading way then intended.

"I'm sorry Angelica, I got to go, I never meant to hurt you." He said feeling the clench in his throat, he turned and walked away a single tear rolling down his cheek. He wiped it away and centered himself a little, he was mourning the loss of what could have been a beautiful friendship more than the relationship he just terminated. Even though he knew that she had figured him out, he still couldn't bring himself to admit it to anyone openly and let someone in. For to do so would weaken the walls he had put into place, and something might slip while the defenses were down, letting the rest of the world know about his perversion.

The rest of the school year went by normally Angelica never mentioned to anyone what had transpired between the three of them. She and Edd very rarely ran into each other having totally different schedules in the first place, which in retrospect was probably one of the reasons Edd choose to pursue her. Eddy and Edd's friendship was strained for a little bit but quickly worked itself back to normalcy, with a lot of help from Ed. He didn't ask what the issue was nor did he want to know, he just wanted his friends to stop acting like "bitches" toward each other. With a lot of talks dancing around the issue and a lot of pot he got them to see that their friendship was worth more than whatever the issue was.

When the summer rolled around Lee had moved down to Peach Creek to live with her father, her mother and her had decided they were not getting along to well and that some space was needed between them. It only took a little convincing of Edd's mother to allow this to happen, it was either this or just allow them to rip each other apart. Instantly Lee started flirting with Eddy, she found the old scam artist adorable and wanted to know everything about him. It seems the changes puberty did to Eddy put him in a new light for her, having meet him earlier in life she only found him annoying but now he was the moon to her and she was damn well going to be his stars. For Edd's sake Eddy was respectful taking things slowly getting to know Lee and making an educated choice about whether or not to see her more intimately. Slowly she became a part of the group, eventually joining them during their smoke sessions. It wasn't hard for Lee to figure out her step-brother was holding out on her, it's kind of hard to miss the smell sometime no matter how much cologne you put on. Even though she had been granted access and was flirting with Eddy, she was still considered an outsider to the boys, some walls can't be busted through you just get a glimpse through the cracks. Edd's parents, having worked for the same hospitals for several years, had finally both gotten on the first shift schedule so they could now have a more normal family life with their children.

At the end of summer came band camp (insert appropriate jokes here), but it wasn't one where you left and stayed somewhere it was just a 8 hour a day practice sessions at the high school to learn their music and marching steps for the marching band section of the year. They would be performing at all the home football games. Playing the Star Spangled Banner before the game started, performing their routine during the half time show and playing music at key points of the game such as touch downs or blaring random notes in an attempt to distract the other team. It was a lot of work but Eddward enjoyed it, they were even going to be competing with a few other schools. The music was a mix of Star Wars and Star Trek themes, a mesh of the opening numbers for both genera's to start with, Vader's march for the second number ending with the klingon battle song. Edd thought the last number appropriate seeing how football was a small war in his eyes.

During band camp Edd had started hanging out with another girl, Katie, but this time he wasn't going to date her, he was just going to be friends with her. He had known Katie as an acquaintance for a while but their friendship bloomed during this time. It was a two sided affair for Edd he would gain a friend, and her reputation would keep people at bay and she would gain a male companion that wasn't trying to get in her pants. Katie, as you probably can guess, had a reputation for being easy. It wasn't that she was going out trying to get laid, she was just desperately trying to find love and we all know how boys can be with their promises. Also not saying she didn't enjoy it either it's just hard to explain how a boy can do it and be a stud but a girl enjoys sex and she is a slut.

With attending the games Edd got to watch Kevin in his element and he so loved watching him in those tight white pants. Though little had changed between them, Edd was still the effeminate dork and Kevin the bully, Eddward could still admit to himself that he thought Kevin was sex on a stick. A treat he wouldn't mind licking from head to toe with a generous pause in the middle. Don't judge the boy has needs and midnight wanks just don't cut it sometimes. Kevin's team was a cohesive unit that Edd thought did very well for themselves, but with all things sometimes you're better sometimes you're not. And there were no championship games this year because several other teams were just way better.

It was after the football season had come to a close for the Cobblers Edd was having one of those epic teenage angst driven evenings, seriously he loves Lee as the step-sister that she is but enough with the poking and prodding about Eddy. Having had his personal space invaded for the last time Edd decided to leave and head down to Katie's house for the evening. He called her to make sure she was home, after receiving a favorable answer about his arrival, he picked up two movies and headed out the door. She only lived a few blocks away from him so the walk to her house was brief but invigorating with the chill autumn air. Once he arrived he knocked on the door and she answered rather quickly. Her house was small, the living room that you entered through had only enough room for a couch against the right wall, a recliner next to the kitchen door, TV beside the front door and a small book case against the left wall and still have room for you to walk around. On the left side wall was the door to her parent's room, on the opposite wall from the front door was the door to the kitchen and off that was the bathroom, her room and a little nook somewhere in there for a washer and dryer.

They sat there talking, her in the recliner him on the couch, ignoring the movies he had brought over. Both Katie's parents were not at home, apparently having gone to a night time church service right before Edd had shown up. Edd had only been there for about twenty minutes when a knock was heard at the door. Katie got up from the recliner walked over to the door and pushed back the curtains that were in front of the small window in the door. Accepting who was on the other side she unlocked the door and opened it stepping aside to allow them entrance. Stepping threw the door was none other than Kevin Barr and his friend Rolf, Kevin was caring in his hand a fifth of Jack Daniels that looked to be half way consumed. He placed the bottle on the TV stand by the door and encircled his arms around Katie leaning in to whisper in her ear on the opposite side of Edd's view she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave a little giggle at what he was saying. Rolf came over and sat on the couch on the opposite side from Edd leaning back into the corner of the couch with his right arm draped over the back "What's up Ed boy."

Edd just smiled and nodded his head to acknowledge him. A few hushed whispers from Katie in Kevin's ear and she removed her arms from his neck grabbing his left hand with her right she lead him to the back of the house. Edd knew what was going on but didn't judge her, it was her body to do with as she saw fit he only hoped she would be smart and use protection. Edd was left alone in a room with one of his bullies best friends, to say you could cut the tension with a knife was an understatement. Lucky for Edd Kevin was only gone for a little over ten minutes, so much for the virility of the all American jock, Edd thought it must have been a new record though he didn't keep track. Once Kevin reentered the room Rolf got off the couch but to Edd's shock didn't head toward the door, but toward the back of the house. Side note he lasted longer than Kevin HA. Kevin retrieved the bottle of Jack from the TV stand and sat on the couch where Rolf had previously been. Edd feeling more than a little uncomfortable got up and took the recliner at this point. Kevin opened the bottle and took a swig eyeing Edd the entire time.

Once finished he cleared his throat of the burn from the liquid and ask. "So how long have you known Katie?"

"I have known her for a few years, it's only recently that we have started hanging out." Edd was surprised at the cordial nature Kevin was addressing him in. Guess once outside of social pressures Kevin was a decent person. "So what brings you out this evening other then the obvious of course?"

"Well we were at this little get together, so me and Rolf..."

'Rolf and I." Edd corrected

"Seriously that's why people think you're a dork you know." Kevin grinned a little showing he didn't mean it in a vicious way."So as I was saying, "Rolf and I" were just going out to get some more to drink so we can have a little fun."

"So you just driving by and saw Katie was…."Edd was cut off

"Can I suck your dick?" Kevin blurted out rather quickly.

Edd was shocked, never had he thought that he would be hearing these words come from Kevin Barr's mouth. It had to be a trick there was no way Casanova Kevin, the ladies man of Peach Creek High, just asked Edd if he could give him head. "What?" Is all he could muster.

"You heard me, I want to suck your dick man." Kevin said his face was a flawless poker face, showing no signs of deception or malice. If there was anything to be read from it Edd would have to guess it was eager anticipation for an answer.

"I don't swing that way Kevin I am sorry." Even with the declaration Edd was keeping his hopes in check. It would be all too simple for Kevin to manufacture a story where Edd was the evil fag and he the innocent straight boy and have no problem with people believing it. But his hormones they so yearned for this, it was a wet dream come true for him.

"You don't have to be into men, you don't have to touch me. I am just looking to suck you off and swallow every drop you have to give me." Jesus Christ Edd was getting hard, he knew at any moment he was going to wake up in his bed sheets stained from this dream and a mess to clean up. Kevin got up off the couch and walked over to the recliner, getting on his knees in front of Edd his hands on Edd's knees slowly caressing up his thighs. "Come on man, help a brother out I'm so thirsty." His hands inching further up Edd's legs getting closer to his already erect member. Kevin's hands found it by brushing up against it. A noise from the back alerted Kevin that Rolf was done and he shot up off his knees and walked toward the door, adjusting the erect cock in his pants quickly to hide it from straining against his jeans. Edd noticed not only the movement but the outline and boy did he want to unwrap that present. But he still had to be one hundred percent sure, this was his bully after all and this was a big secret he was keeping there was no room for error.

"Kev, you ready to go?" Rolf asked heading to where Kevin was by the door.

"Ya, just a sec." Kevin said gesturing with his forefinger pointing straight up in front of his chest. "Hey Dork," Edd looked up to were Kevin was standing, Kevin's eyes were smoldering with what Edd could best describe as lust and his lips drawn in his trade mark devilish smirk. "I'll see you around." Kevin winked with the eye on the opposite side of where Rolf was standing, turned and exited the house followed by Rolf. Katie walked into the room looking disheveled.

"Hey Kat I got to go." Edd said and he exited the house quickly, not waiting for a response from his friend. He had to go and work out this problem that was plaguing him in his pants and then a few cold showers afterwards. As he was steeping off the porch he saw Kevin and Rolf climbing into an old faded white two door Ford truck. Edd turned and headed down the street toward his house at a quick pace. The beast roared into life, all Edd could think was " _How butch"_ , as the truck drove by the horn was heard twice and a hand came from the driver's side pointed at Edd and Kevin was heard screaming "WWWWOOOOO" in his direction. Edd could never understand such a show of revelry at every turn that the cool kids did. He just hoped it was Kevin's way of showing excitement for future meetings between them


	7. The Call

Chapter 7- 10th grade The Call

 **A/N- I hope everyone is enjoying the story as much as I am writing it. Warning Dug use and mature language.**

The next week Edd had noticed that Kevin had eased up on bullying him, only participating if someone had called him into the fray, Kevin had to keep up appearances after all. Edd had also caught Kevin staring at him a few times as he walked by him in the hallways at school. To Edd all of this did support Kevin's claims of being interested in him, but there was still no way of being absolutely certain until the deed was done there was just too many variables to account for. Edd had a plan though, and he was going to see it through to the end regardless of the outcome. A few other changes in life had occurred during this time, Eddy being the oldest of the group had past his driver's test. His parents being proud of their son gave him their old car having just bought a new one of their own. The boys would use this new found freedom to take a few country cruises, smoking a few joints on their way to the creek where they would lay around in the sun or go swimming while the weather was still decent enough to. Edd also discovered with his pot consumption his grades were slipping, he didn't spend as much time on his studies as he use to, but he also didn't care enough to actually stop the use of the drug and correct the situation. He was enjoying the freedom it was giving him too much to want to relinquish that, he thought it made him a more fun person to be around and he didn't want to go back to being the boring Double D of his past.

During the following weekend after his run in with Kevin at Katie's, Edd had decided action needed to be taken to figure out the conundrum that was Kevin Barr. The only choice he could see was to confront the situation and see where it would lead. With that thought in mind he called his friend Katie up. "Hey Kat."

"Hey Double D what's up? Edd could hear here adjusting the phone and picking something up. "You know I still have your movies you left last weekend." Edd was so flustered and in such a rush to take care of his situation that he had totally forgotten about them.

"O right can you just bring those to school Monday, I have something I want to ask you." Edd was trying to hide his nervousness he didn't want her asking to many questions about what he was going to ask and hoped if she did that his lies would be accepted.

"Ok?" Was her only response.

"I was wondering if you had Kevin's number." Edd's hands were sweating now.

"What do you need it for? I didn't think you two got along all that well." Damn it girl stop prying and give me the number Edd want to say, but his polite nature wouldn't allow him.

"Yes you see, he asked me to help him with a few classes, but forgot to give me his number and we are supposed to meet up tomorrow. So I thought you might have it so I can give him a call and make sure we are still meeting up." Edd held his breath hoping she bought it.

"Well that does sound like Kevin, always forgetting the small things. Sure I'll give it to you just give me a sec." Edd could hear rustling in the background, apparently she was looking for her little black book. A few page turns later "Here it is."

Edd wrote down the number, faze one complete now onto faze two. After saying goodbye to Katie and ending the call Edd picked up the phone again, shaking hands pushed in the first three numbers before. Images of the ensuing conversation started playing through his mind. "You actually thought I was interested in you, FAG! Call ends" or "Ya I just hope you don't mind that I am going to pass you around the football team. Call Ends" or "You got to date me and my girlfriend. Call ends" truthfully Edd didn't even know if Kevin had a girlfriend at this time. But if last weekend was any indication Edd was pretty sure he was currently single, or at least he hoped so. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly Edd finally built up the courage to take the leap off the edge and dial the number he had clutched in his hand as though it was the only thing keeping him grounded.

The line rang a few times "Hello." Kevin's voice came from the other side.

"Hello, Kevin its Edd." He said a little shyly awaiting the fall out.

"Edd?" Kevin seemed confused at first. "O Edd, how did you get this number?"

"I have my ways." Edd took another breath continuing to try and calm himself."I just wanted to talk to you and see what was up."

"You were wondering about last weekend weren't you?" Kevin was always so blunt and straight to the point.

"Y-yes, I was just wondering what you were trying to get at by doing what you did." It's now or never might as well get it over with.

"I'm bi ok and I think you're cute. Always have, just never could figure out how to tell you." Edd could feel himself blush a little at Kevin saying he was cute.

"What about your friend? What if he had caught you? Do you always take such risks to get what you want?" This was the part that was bugging Edd, with the way the world viewed homosexual behavior he personally knew what it meant in high school if you were discovered even for someone like Kevin Barr.

"If he didn't like it he could have walked his ass home." So confident he was Edd thought. "Plus most of my friends know already, they're cool with it as long as I don't hit on them, and ya I'll do what I need to, to get what I want."

"If it really was only that simple Kevin." Edd breathed out.

"Yes it can be dork, you just have to try. I know I haven't been very nice to you, and I know you don't have any reason to trust me, all I am asking for is a chance." Kevin sounded a little exposed in Edd's opinion, this wasn't the usual cocky Kevin he was use to.

"I would really like to believe what you're saying, but with our past how am I to trust you're not just doing this to hurt me somehow." Edd was at an impasse with this conversation. "Do you mind if I take a few days to think this through?"

"Ya sure take your time," Kevin sounded a little hurt, "And don't be afraid to call me I would like to talk to you some more." He was at least willing to give Edd some space.

"Ok I'll be sure to do that, I should let you go, I have to go see my friends." Edd said about to hang up the phone.

"Wait, don't I get your number? How can I get a hold of you? Kevin sounded excited and pleading at the same time.

"Let me get to know the real you first then I'll give it to you." Edd hoped that was a reasonable request for Kevin he wasn't just going to let the jock have the key to the kingdom so easily, at least that was the thought at the moment.

"Fair enough, I can't wait to hear from you again, bye" and Kevin hung up the phone. Edd let out a shaky breath and hung up the phone. He had just taken a very daring step, one he never thought he would attempt while in high school. He could only hope that his gamble would pay off and not lead him down the path of ruin. One final call to make to Eddy, they made their plans and within twenty minutes Edd was waiting outside his house for his friends to pick him up. Five minutes later, really can they never be on time, a silver two door Chevy Cavalier pulls up and stops in front of Edd's house. The passenger side door opens and Ed steps out pushing the seat forward to allow Double D entrance to the vehicle. Once Double D was inside and Ed put the seat back into position, climbing in and closing the door, Eddy speeds off toward their favorite creek. Being in the back seat where it was harder for the outside world to see him, Double D had the job of rolling the joint for their trip. The boys talked about many things, most notable were Eddy's concerns with Lee.

"Man your sister is getting on my last nerve." Eddy exclaimed as he took the turn to go up Peach Tree hill and into the country.

"Whatever seems to be the matter Eddy?" Double D licks the paper putting the final twist to the joint and passes it to Ed for inspection.

"She always wants to know where the hell I'm at, who the hell I'm with and what the fuck I'm doing." Double D cringes a little but has learned to give up on correcting Eddy's bad mouth.

"Well you're not dating her yet?" Ed asks as he fishes a lighter out of his pants pocket apparently pleased with the job Double D did.

"No, we're just still getting to know each other." Eddy checks the mirror to see if Double D was upset about the conversation.

"Well Eddy, I love my sister, but I would have to agree with you that at times she can be a little overbearing. " The joint is passed to Eddy. "I will not hold it against you if you decide she is not the girl you thought she was." Eddy using his left hand passes the joint between the two front seats.

"Cool man." Eddy says holding in the smoke. Double D reaches up and takes the joint from Eddy, holding it properly he takes a few quick drags off of it and passes it back to Ed through the gap between the seats as well.

"So should I prepare myself for a distraught Lee?" Double D asked exhaling the smoke.

"Probably." Eddy answered solemnly. "Sorry if it causes you any trouble." Double D just waves it off sits back and contemplates how to ask his friends his own question concerning a certain red head without giving too much away.

It took him another ten minutes to work up the courage and find the right words plus the rest of the joint before he finally spoke. "Do you all believe in second chances?"

"Definitely, why do you ask?" Ed turns to face Double D.

"Well let's say there was someone who was mean to you most of the time you have known them but now they seem to be interested in you in more than a friendly way. Would you trust them and take a chance that they are not just doing this to hurt you more?" Ahh the pronoun game so much fun to keep from slipping and keep it gender neutral.

"Has she said she likes you?" Eddy says looking through the mirror once again to see a blushing Double D.

"Not really, they said I was cute though." Double D's blush deepening.

"Well that's a start." Ed smiled reaching over the front seat with his left hand and clapping Double D on the shoulder. "Is she flirting with you?"

"I think so, if you can call trying to grab my junk flirting." Double D's cheeks burned even redder.

"AAAHHH our little Double D is growing up." Eddy says in a mocking voice looking at Ed. "He's got himself a girlfriend."

"They grow up so fast." Ed replies in a similar tone, turning fully around in the seat to face the rear. "Hopefully he'll lose his V card soon." And playfully punches Double D in the thigh.

"I do not have a girlfriend, I haven't asked them out yet." How straight people don't catch on to the pronoun game is beyond me. "And I am not a virgin." Double D said with a huff and a rub to the thigh.

"Blow Jobs don't count." Eddy said rather matter-of-factly.

"If I'm a virgin you're one as well Eddy." Double D said flicking Eddy in the ear.

"Naw Eddy boy got him some last night." Ed said laughing at the shock look on Eddy's face.

"Ed you weren't supposed to say anything." Eddy hit Ed in the chest. How they weren't in a wreck is a miracle.

"I don't want to hear this, I don't want to know about you and my sister." Double D put his hands to his ears.

"Who said it was your sister." Ed stated earning another punch from Eddy and all that got was a laugh from Ed in return.

"Serious Ed why don't you tell him everything then, how about positions you want to tell him that to." Eddy was not a very happy person at this moment.

"So like he had her leg up…." Ed stated laughing the entire time.

"EDDY is that why you are going to break Lee's heart. Seriously Eddy tell me this isn't happening. GOD DAMN IT EDDY!"

Both of his friends were shocked, it wasn't everyday you heard Double D curse. "No, that's not why but at the same time it is why." Eddy was stumbling over his words trying best to calm his friend and maintain their friendship. "See I met somebody else and me and your sister aint dating."

"I don't want to hear it, don't talk to me right now Eddy." Double D just crossed his arms and looked out the window. The trip to the creek was cut short that day, Ed suggested just turning around and going home. He wasn't looking forward to damage control this time around, though he had to admit it was his fault the situation happened. If only he could keep his mouth shut while he was high. A couple of weeks and a few peace pipe conferences later and everything would be back to the way it should be. Or so Ed hoped.


	8. The Meet and Greet

Chapter 8- 10th grade The Meet and Greet

 **A/N- Not much on the warnings this time other then mild sexual situations.**

As expected it took Edd and Eddy a few weeks to patch their friendship up. What spurred Edd's stubbornness about the situation was Lee's forlorn attitude. Eddy didn't have the courage to tell her it was over another girl, but Lee somehow knew. Edd wasn't going to fill in the gaps in for her though, he didn't want to prolong her suffering. Logically he knew that Eddy and Lee were not dating so Eddy was free to make his own choices on the subject, he was just angry with him that he didn't break the news to Lee before he found a replacement. Lee did bounce back a little more everyday and midway through week two she was whole again not even acknowledging that she was ever interested in Eddy. For good measure Edd didn't totally forgive Eddy for a little bit longer holding out for at least a somewhat apology from him. The time spent away from Eddy, and unfortunately Ed except when Eddy wasn't around or during their peace pipe conferences, was spent with Katie or talking to Kevin on the phone once in a while. Edd wasn't going to overdo it and seem to eager right out the gate. Their conversations were short generally talking about their interests or gossip with the occasional sexual innuendo from Kevin and Edd quickly admonishing him for it, though secretly enjoying it. It was during one of these talks that plans were made to truly find out where each other stood in regards to the other.

"So dork, when do you want to get together and talk face to face?" Kevin said sounding rather relaxed having been lying in his bed while on the phone.

"When could we? My parents are home after school and Lee is normally around unless she is out with her friends." Edd was worried that if any kind of foreplay or more were to happen it would be quite difficult to keep it under wraps.

"Ya and my place is no good either." Kevin said letting out a sigh. "Seems kind of hopeless at the moment."

"Camping during the weekend?" Edd suggested hopefully.

"Can't, parents won't let me go anywhere like that unless they know who it is I am going with." Kevin sounded defeated.

"So I guess staying overnight is the same way." Edd asked Kevin confirmed. "What is it about you that makes your parents hold such a tight leash?"

"My dad's a bit strict, ex military and all" Kevin was getting flustered, his hard on for the dork wasn't going away and he needed to find a way to get to touch him and soon.

"My last suggestion would be telling them you're going to a friend's house that they trust and then just come here." Edd didn't approve of lying but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"I don't know I'll see what I can do." Kevin pauses Edd could hear him shifting in his bed. "Sorry got to go my dad's calling me." The call was abruptly ended. Edd was getting just as frustrated there always seemed to be a road block for them to get together and have some alone time. Kevin lived on the other side of town from Edd, so sneaking out and meeting up would be difficult with the town having a curfew after 9pm for all those underage. His normal time before the curfew was spent mainly at Katie's, Edd's or doing his chores, and getting away from those could be difficult seeing how Ed was still trying to patch up Double D's and Eddy's friendship again.

Edd spent the next hour and a half playing video games in his room, school work left forgotten on his bed he'd get to it later maybe. God it was so boring without the other Ed's around. But he had to stand his moral high ground, a task that was proving harder with each passing day. A knock was heard at his door and before he could give permission the door was opened and Lee walked in "You got a visitor." Kevin followed behind her through the door.

Stepping past her, Lee now leaning against the door frame, Kevin took in Edd's room. It was a small but well organized room, looking at it from the door the full size bed was against the left wall next to a window a dresser with a lamp and alarm clock sitting close to it against the far wall from the door. A desk in the right hand corner with the desk chair Edd was currently occupying in front of it a window between the desk and dresser. Against the right hand wall was a table with Edd's ant farm and Jim the cactus near his desk and against the wall near the door was his TV sitting on a small entertainment center.

"Hey dork." Kevin gave a small wave, Edd motioned to the bed for him to sit on, where else was there.

"Hey." Edd replied sheepishly "Lee do you mind?" Lee had been eyeing Kevin like a starving person at an all you can eat buffet. Edd got out of the chair and practically pushed her out the door and closed it in her face. Turning around and put his back against the door with a sigh.

"Well fine then." Was what was heard through the door as Lee turned and walked away.

"I see what you mean about your family being around all the time, she's nosey." Kevin said with a little bit of a laugh as he shift to the head of the bed to lean against the headboard his left foot on the floor his right leg on the bed bent with the foot hanging off the edge hands in his lap. He was wearing tight blue jeans grey A-shirt with a black button up collared shirt completely unbutton and the sleeves rolled up to his bicep's. God Edd was drooling over seeing Kevin's well defined chest exposed so subtly through his shirts.

"Y-yeah, she can be a little infuriating at times." Edd slowly made his way back to his desk chair. "So how did you manage to come over? I thought your parents wouldn't allow it."

"I called a friend and told him I was meeting this hot chick and if he would cover for me with the parents." Kevin put his hands behind his head as though emphasizing how smooth he was with his ploy.

"So you lied to your friend and your family?" Edd half heartedly chided him as he wheeled the chair closer to the bed so he could see Kevin clearly. He did suggest it after all.

"Only about the gender, everything else I told him was the truth." Kevin said with that devilish grin on his face. Edd blushed at the realization that Kevin had just called him hot.

Edd was fidgeting with his hands in his lap eyes cast down at Kevin's foot on the floor. "S-so what would you like to do Kevin? I have a few video games we could play or we could watch a movie or we coul…"

"You could help me with my biology." Kevin sits up in the bed both feet planted on the floor now.

"What area do you need help in?" bringing his eyes up to meet Kevin's.

"Human anatomy." Kevin starts reaching for Edd.

"But that doesn't start for anot…." Edd was cut off when Kevin put his hand behind his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Edd was frozen at first shocked by the impact of their lips but quickly reciprocated. Starting out slow as they figured out each other's movements and styles, gradually turning into a feverish well timed dance of their lips and tongues. They were exploring each other's mouths, and their hands were discovering each of their bodies. Kevin had pulled Edd up into a standing position to make it easier for himself to touch the boy, his right hand which was on Edd's neck slowly slide down his back and into Edd's pants gripping his ass check slowly kneading it. Edd had slide his hand up Kevin's A-shirt sliding it across Kevin's toned stomach feeling the ripple of his well defined muscles finally reaching his pecks exploring Kevin's chest with his hands feeling the muscles tense as Kevin was gripping his ass. Both boys were bring out soft quiet moans from each other Edd could feel the desire growing in not only his but in Kevin's pants as well. Edd was so longing to unwrap this present that Kevin had so thoughtfully brought for him. Slowly bringing his hand back down out of Kevin's shirt his finger's rubbing the hem of Kevin's jeans sliding two fingers in readying the rest to follow.

A sudden knock at the door brought both boys out of their euphoria with the realization that someone was demanding entrance into the room. "Shit" Kevin and Edd both said and quickly separated sitting down in their respective places. But the door did not open "Sweetie, are you and your friend hungry?" Edd's mother called from the other side of the door. Kevin shook his head looking rather flustered.

"No mother we are fine." Edd replied sounding a little out of breath

"Is everything alright?" The concern mothers have for their babies evident in her voice.

Edd clears his throat "Yes everything is alright." Edd looks at Kevin hoping he wasn't freaked out and would stay for a little more biology tutoring. Kevin looked like someone who had been scared nearly to death but was doing their best to conceal it. A few tell-tale signs were still present the look of concern on his face the slightly faster breathing (though that could have been from the kiss) and the slight wringing of his hands together.

"Ok Sweetie just let me know if you guys want anything" With that you could her the shuffling of her feet as she walked away.

Edd still concerned with the way Kevin looked said. "Maybe we shouldn't do that anymore tonight, I wouldn't want you to die of a heart attack if we were disturbed again."

"Ya, maybe you're right." Kevin huffed out. Edd turned to the TV and extracted the current game from his console and brought out a fighting game for them to play. Picking up the second controller he turned and extended it to Kevin in a motion for him to join him. "Come on let's see if I can kick your ass."

Kevin got off the bed and sat on the floor cross legged by Edd. "Bring it dork."They played for another forty five minutes their conversations consisting of trash talk and boasting over victories against the other. As time went on Kevin started relaxing again as he did he started resting his left arm on Edd's lap as they played and between battles would rub his leg and during would tease him by flicking him in the ear or gently tap his controller. But unfortunately all things must come to an end and after Edd's latest victory against Kevin, though Kevin swears he let Edd win, Kevin sat his controller on the TV stand, stood up and turns to Edd. "I got to go Dork, before the parents get suspicious. I had a lot of fun though."

"Me to, I would like to do it again soon." Edd could feel the beginnings of a blush dance across his cheeks.

"Hey I got an idea, why don't you skip school with me tomorrow, your parents both work during the day right." Kevin was very eager for Edd to agree.

"Yes they do, but…" Edd was trying to find a reason to say no so he didn't have to skip, though why he was caring about his attendance was becoming less and less important to him.

"It will be fun, we'll hang out play video games watch movies, and we won't have to worry about being interrupted if we make out." Kevin was really getting eager for a yes.

The scales had been tipped, school what was school again was there a reason he needed to be there. When presented with the opportunity to kiss those lips again and not worry about interruption, to be able to touch Kevin again with no worries about a sister or parents barging in, Edd was all in. "Sure could be fun, what time and were should I meet you?" Edd blurted out rather fast.

"What time do your parents leave?"

"The same time I do at seven" Edd replied

"Well then I'll meet you here at seven thirty, but I got to go I'll see you tomorrow." Kevin gives Edd a quick peck on the cheek and opens his bedroom door, Edd escorts him out of the house the entire time not wanting the night to already be over but at the same time greatly anticipating the arrival of tomorrow. Edd was not going to get to much sleep tonight for his mind would wonder about all that they would do and if he did manage to sleep his dreams would be him vividly remembering about their kiss that day without the interruption and we all know where that leads wink wink.


	9. Lust

Chapter 9- 10th grade Lust

 **A/N- Woo chapter 9 never thought this little story would get this big and I still got a little ways to go. Warning- Sexual situations**

The morning finally came after a night of tossing and turning or interrupted sleep, waking to find he had a kick stand and a mess to clean up, Kevin was going to be the death of him he was sure. He put his soiled sheet in the laundry and took a shower getting ready for school, a farce for his parents sake. He wore Blue jeans white polo shirt with a black sweater vest, not that his closet had anything he would consider alluring. Even if it did to change the way he dressed might raise suspicion with his parents, for why would he dress like that for school. So his usual school attire was the only option he had at the moment. After getting dressed and grabbing his school supplies, crap he forgot to do his homework o well not like he was going, he headed down stairs to grab a quick something to eat.

His parents were sitting at the kitchen table drinking their morning coffee his father reading the paper, Lee was eating a bowl of cereal leaning against the counter. Edd went to the refrigerator and grabbed his blueberry bagels and blueberry cream cheese along with some orange juice and made a quick breakfast for himself. While he was spreading the cream cheese on his bagels his father folds up his paper and address' him "Hey kiddo, you want a ride to school today?"

"Father I wish you would stop calling me that I'm fifteen." Edd says softly but exasperatedly "And no I don't need a ride, I am going to Katie's and walking her to the bus stop." Edd finished with the bagel, retrieved a glass from the cabinet in front of him and poured his OJ.

"Ok sport, Lee wanted a ride so I thought I would offer." Edd let out a small sigh at his father's new nickname for him.

The rest of the families morning interactions went by normally lunch money was passed out, farewells were said and the family went on their separate ways. Edd headed in the direction of Katie's house but quickly made a U-turn the instant his parent's cars were out of sight. Quickly unlocking the door and stepping inside Edd deposited his book bag in its proper place in his room and went back down stairs to wait for Kevin. Ten minutes later Edd hears a car door close looking outside thinking it was Kevin quickly was surprised to see his mother walking toward the door. As fast as his legs could carry him he shot up the stairs to his room. What is it with his plans falling to pieces?

Peeking through a crack in his door he watched as his mother entered the house. "Hmm I could have sworn I locked that." Crap he forgot to lock the door.

His mother went into the living room and he heard rustling as though she was searching for something. Five minutes later a knock at the door, his mother goes to the door and opens it, Kevin, why did he have to be early. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Ya I was looking for Edd." Kevin said slightly confused as to why Edd's mother was here.

"O he's already gone to school. He should be at the bus stop shortly you can probably find him there." Edd's mother said a smile in her voice and on her face.

Quick on his toes Edd retrieved his book bag and ran out of his room "Mother what are you doing here?" A confused look on her face he continued. "I forgot a book and had to come back for it, good thing I did for I forgot Kevin was giving Katie and I a ride to school."

"Seems we are both forgetting things today, I left my work keys as well." A little bit of concern on her face over the keys not Edd, she had no reason to distrust her son, when has he ever lie to her.

Edd pointed to the row of hooks behind her head "They are where you normally put them mother."

She reaches up and takes the keys an embraced smile on her face. "So they are." And she ushers the boys out of the house. "You two need to be going or you're going to be late." The two boys headed to Kevin's truck and climbed in.

"So just head like you're going to Katie's house and my mother shouldn't expect a thing, and then just circle around the block." Edd pointed down the road simulating his directions with his hand.

"Ok dork." Was Kevin's response as he brought the engine to life putting the vehicle into gear and heading down the road. Eight minutes later they were parked right back in the same place and Edd's mother's car was nowhere to be seen. They quickly went back in the house, remembering to lock the door this time, and headed up to Edd's room. Edd could literally feel Kevin staring at his ass like it was dessert. Once inside Edd's room with the door closed, can't be too careful, Kevin pulled Edd in and brought their lips together putting them right back to where they were the previous night as thought the ten hours in-between had never happened.

Kevin once again had his hand down the back of Edd's pants gripping and kneading his ass cheek bringing a soft moan from Edd that Kevin quickly swallowed in their kiss. Edd already worked up into a frothing mess from last night's event and the wet dreams skipped the entrée and went straight for the main course. Gripping Kevin threw his jeans Edd could already tell that the jock was just as eager to get the show on the road as he was. After few minutes of teasing Kevin through his jeans, really you don't want to rush a fine meal like this, Edd moved his hand upwards and undid the button of Kevin's jeans, gripping the zipper Edd slowly brings it down and reaches in taking a hold of Kevin's erection and gently stroking it feeling it twitch in his hands with each movement.

Kevin's kisses becoming more frantic the more Edd teases him, his desire for the boy becoming unbearable. He brings his hands up to Edd's shoulders and pushes down softly guiding Edd down to his knees. Edd not one to miss a hint grabs the top of Kevin's jeans and bring both jeans and boxers down, Kevin's member pops out of boxers and smacks Edd in the face eliciting a small laugh of excitement from him. To say Kevin was impressive was an understatement, Edd reached up and cupped Kevin's balls in the palm of his hand using the fingers of that hand to direct the shaft. He licks the pre cum off the head of Kevin's dick encircling his tongue around it a few times before taking it into his mouth. Slowly he sucks bobbing up and down bringing guttural moans from Kevin that excites Edd more and more with each passing second. With his own excitement increasing so does the speed at which he takes Kevin. Adding a twist to the motion was noticeably bringing Kevin closer and closer to the edge. As Edd goes down Kevin thrusts up grabbing the back of Double D's head trying to keep him down even longer. Kevin's moans becoming loader his hips thrusting erratically a few praises to God in heaven and Kevin spills his seed down Edd's throat breathing heavily and shuddering as the waves of ecstasy envelope his body and mind.

Edd having his protein intake for the morning looks up at Kevin to take in the sight of pleasure upon his face. Kevin looks down at the dork with his devilish smirk on his face breaths out "Damn." Reaches down grabbing both his jeans and boxers bringing them back up in one quick movement fastening his jeans then collapses on the bed laying down both feet planted on the floor. Edd gets up from his kneeing position and sits on the bed next to Kevin taking in the exquisite look of the jocks after glow. Kevin was breathing heavily as though he had run a marathon slowly returning to normal the smile on his face slowly receding, going from a look of serenity to his brows furrowing as though in contemplation. Quickly Kevin shots up into a standing position pats his front pockets then his back and without looking in Edd's directions states "I got to go."

"But I thought w-we were going to hang out." The last half of what Edd said coming out rather silently. Half in realization half in disbelief Edd felt stupid for believing the charms of the jock.

"I forgot I have something I got to do." An obvious lie, they were both skipping school what would the jock have to do during school hours. But Edd played along in hopes that maybe it wasn't a lie, in hopes that their conversations hadn't been an elaborate ploy, in hopes that what he felt in that kiss wasn't just lust but something that could be more.

"Whatever it is you have to do you can come back after its done I'll still be here." Edd said with that hope visible in his voice, some would call it desperation. A hope and desperation for some piece of what everyone else has, love, companionship and intimacy.

"I don't know, I'll see what I can do." Still not looking in Edd's direction he walks to the door of the room. Places his hand on the handle and sighs. "I'll see ya around dork." Opens the door walks out of the room and down the hall exiting the house. Edd goes to a window facing the street and watches as Kevin gets in his truck and leaves without so much as a glance back. What had he done wrong was he not good enough, was what he had done not been good enough for him? Or was there something ultimately wrong with him that made Kevin leave? His self doubts and deprecation overwhelming him he slinks back into his room closes the door. He goes to his bed and lays down, maybe a nap would make him feel better, though a small part hoped Kevin would come back the vast majority knew he wasn't. Kevin had gotten what he wanted, and Edd felt stupid for letting his hormones get the better of him. It's just a shame that Kevin was a drug he was hooked on and getting off of it was not going to be an easy task

.

 **A/N Sorry this one's shorter than the last several I know you all have grown accustom to long chapters from me**


	10. Envy

Chapter 10- 10th grade Envy

 **A/N-Warnings- Drug use, mention of Alcohol use sexual language and misogynistic behavior .**

The Next couple of week's things had returned relatively to normal. The Ed's where all friends once again, Kevin's and Edd's phones conversations had ceased. The onetime Edd had made an attempt to call during the first week Kevin's mother had picked up and informed him that Kevin was not at home. On the other hand Kevin has not started bullying Edd again, his treatment of the boy was still improving no longer joining others in their bullying even when goaded into it rather he would just say "Why don't you leave the kid alone" and then walk away. A week after the events in Edd's room it appeared that Kevin had started dating a girl, Nazz, Edd having seen them walking rather close several times or Nazz leaning against Kevin's locker talking to him between classes, with a big smile across her face and her happy looking eyes staring at Kevin. The rumor mill at school only confirmed it a day or two after Edd first saw them together, but even with this new information Edd could swear that Kevin was still staring at him as he walked past him down the hall. Edd couldn't figure out if these stares were Kevin trying to figure out if he was going to say anything about what happened between them. Or if they were more, but if they were Edd was no longer going to pursue him as Kevin was now taken.

The day the rumor mill had released its "findings" Edd had been looking in Kevin's direction at the new power couple when Eddy leans on the locker beside him obstructing his view "So I wonder what cute little nickname they'll give them?" Edd just looks at him dumbfounded, Eddy just points his thumb over his shoulder at Kevin and Nazz "You know the new royal couple over there, the ones you've been eyeing for the past five minutes."

Edd blushes at the fact he had been so obvious and looks down. "I haven't been doing it that long."

"No? I thought you were about to drop your books man. Look I know she's hot and everyone's had a crush on her forever. But seriously if I go into your room and find a shrine to Nazz in your closet were going to need to have a talk." Eddy claps his friend on the shoulder. "Come on it's about time for class and we don't want you to be late." Eddy spins him around and closes his locker. "But what's your money on? I am going with Navin."

Edd laughs a little into his hand. "I think I much rather prefer Kevzz."

The rest of the week went by smoothly, Kevin and Nazz strutting around the halls like they owned the place. An occasional outburst from Lee when she saw Eddy with his new girlfriend around school and Ed being goaded into seeing how much gravy he can chug in one sitting. "Honestly I can't stand the stuff anymore." He told Edd afterward.

Thanking god the weekend had finally arrived, Edd was relieved he wouldn't have to see Kevin with Nazz on his arm for two whole days. Friday night was spent with his family, after trudging through his homework, Dinner was pork chops baked in red peppers green peppers and butter along with backed macaroni and cheese, corn and mashed potatoes. They were a meat and potatoes type of family, Eddward's grandmother having grown up on a farm in Texas, his mother learned to cook and cook good. They ate their meals in front of the TV watching their favorite sitcoms or reruns of older shows and movies. Lee didn't appreciate the older stuff as much as Edd did, he felt there was something special about a horror movie that didn't use special effects to scare you or their views on love and romance that could still bring a tear to your eye. It was during a rerun of Roseanne that the phone rang, Lee snatching it up. "Kanker residence." A small pause." O no you have the right number, our little Mr. Vincent is right here."She dangled the phone in Edd's face. "It's your boyfriend Edd."

"Lee! That's not very nice." Edd's mother scolded her.

Edd grabs the phone out of her hand "Hello?"

"God she'sss annoying." Slurred Kevin, Edd quickly gets up and leaves the room.

"Ahh he's got to whisper sweet nothings in private. Come on Eddward we all want to hear." Ignoring the teasing of his sister Edd quickly went to his room and closed the door.

"Kevin, are you drunk?" Really who was Double dime bag to scold Kevin for drinking?

"NO I'm not drunk," A stumble is heard through the phone. "Well maybe."

"What do you want Kevin?" Edd was a little irritated at the drunken call.

"I just wwwwant to talk, I want to shee how you're doing, I just want to to tell you that I like you and I want YOU to come over." Ya Kevin was wasted.

"No Kevin your dating Nazz, and I can't be with anyone that is dating someone else." Edd was keeping his voice down just in case his snooping sister was listening in.

"AAahh come on baby, I don't care about her, itsss just for appearancesss. She means nothing to me it'ss you I care about." Kevin was getting a little irritated alcohol was not very becoming on him. "Come on baabyy come over and let me sshow you how much I care about you we can make love all night under the starss."

"No Kevin not while you're like this and definitely not while you dating Nazz." Edd hangs up while Kevin was in the middle of some protest, what the boy had to say Edd didn't care. Really to think Edd would be the other women for him, you just can't have your cake and eat it too. Why couldn't Kevin just figure it out already, sure Edd was a horny teenager, but he wants more than just meaningless sex. He wanted to be told those three little words by somebody that made his knees weak when they looked at him. He wanted fireworks when they kissed he wanted that old fashioned romance. Determined not to wallow in his self pity Edd goes back downstairs and puts the phone back in its cradle, grabs his jacket and heads toward the door.

"Honey where you going?" His mother could see his irritation.

"Ed's" He replies heading toward the door.

"Are you staying over there tonight? It's almost nine."She asks fidgeting with her watch as she looked at it.

"Probably." And out the door he went, practically speed walking the whole way there taking back alley's to avoid detection by anyone. Once at Ed's he rounds the house and knocks on the window to Ed's room, seeing his friends face come into view Double D heads to the back door waiting to be let in.

"Hey bro what's up?" Ed answers the door leaning against the door frame propped up by his right forearm situated above his head.

"Hey Ed, do you mind if I stay here tonight? I just don't want to be at home." Double D says as he steps toward the open door.

"Ya sure, me and Eddy were about to head out to the creek." Edd steps back allowing Double D entrance to his house, quizzically looking at Double D for not correcting his grammar, but letting it go D would talk about it when he wanted to. "Ya we're going to build a fire and back out and you know just chill."

"Perfect, just what I need right about now." D says as Eddy comes out of the basement and closes the door. "So I guess I don't need to take my coat off." Ed shacks his head, all three boys head right back out the door and to Eddy's car. Once situated in the vehicle and on their way Double D taps Ed on the shoulder with a little bit of cellophane in his hand. "That's all I got to chip in, can you get me a little more tomorrow once I get money off the folks."

"Ya sure, a dime as usual?" Ed replied as he took the wrapper.

"Ya you know how the parents are, they need a reason for me to get more than ten bucks at a time." Double D then leaned back practically lying down in the seat. Ed made quick work of rolling the joint, Double D could swear he was some sort of joint-fu master. The road to the creek was dark and winding, the country having very little in the way of street lights, the ones available were those provided by the residence that sparsely littered the landscape. The boys knew these roads like the back of their hands having traveled them many times by now, often taking a new turn just to see where it would lead them. Sometimes that wasn't a good idea because the road could go from paved to gravel rather quickly and they did manage to get themselves lost a few times in the process. Once they reached the creek they were all already well on their way to well done, having finished their second joint ten minutes ago. Double D always enjoyed the creek at night the place was silent and serene, the sounds of the water flowing over the rocks, the crickets chirping in the woods around them. The skies were clear and unobstructed from the towns light, the stars could be seen so clearly, it was a beautiful display to behold.

The boys set upon the task of gathering wood with the aid of a flash light from Eddy's car and created themselves a small fire just to have some illumination. Eddy always the crass one finally couldn't take it anymore. "So what the hell's the matter with you?"

"Whatever do you mean Eddy?" Playing innocent wasn't really going to work but damn if Double D wasn't going to try.

Eddy rubbed the bridge of his nose exhaling in exasperation at Double D's coy response. "You've been moody ever since you got to Ed's."

"I would rather not talk about it." Double D lies back looking at the stars.

"It's about that girl isn't it?" Ed intercedes "The one who was flirting with you a few weeks ago."

"How astute Ed, you are correct, it seems their intentions were less then romantic. And therefore I had gotten my hopes up where I should have known better." Double D sighs.

"Sorry to hear that man." Eddy says softly trying to conceal his concern. "You know what FUCK her, she aint worth your time nor your tears."

"Eddy's right no hoe's worth it." Ed states bluntly throwing another log on the fire. Double D could only shake his head at Edd's condescending words towards the fairer sex, there was no use trying with these two, popular media had sunk its claws into them.

"I wish you would find a better way to express yourselves gentlemen." But try he must.

"Hey you know I don't mean nothing by it." Ed grabs a hand full of dirt and chucks it toward Double D. "But honestly if all she wanted was what's in your pants then she's a hoe."

"I get what you're saying, though the language is crude, I could do better." At this moment Double D would have to agree Kevin's loose views toward sex were probably not his cup of tea. That is the problem that vexes most teenagers the heart mind and groin are in a constant battle and the later seems to win a lot. Double D was just determined not to let it win the next time those lust filled deep green eyes stare into his desperate blues.


	11. Pride

Chapter 11- 10th grade Pride

 **A/N- Thank you all on your reviews on this and my other work they bring a smile to my face. Warnings-Homophobia, Violence and Depressive Nature. Sorry dshell99 don't kill me.**

The following week after the boys little trip to the creek Edd's mood had started improving. Taking his friend misguided but caring advice he started to forget about the red headed jock and return to more important things like actually doing his school work. Of course that was more of his way to ignore his thoughts about Kevin in and out of school. His thoughts on the subject were a mix of logic and emotion.

" _Ok true we really weren't dating, true we had only talked and seen each other a few times, and true I should have known that he was only after that one thing."_ Edd's logical side would argue to himself. " _Well it's not like we have many options, I don't see any other openly gay teens in this school and so dating is out for awhile. It's just I had gotten my hopes up for something really, something special."_ His emotional side would counter. " _But you let yourself get wrapped up and be too hopeful too quickly."_ Logic had a point. " _I just wanted someone to hold and kiss and love is that too much to ask for?"_ His emotional side was, well emotional. " _We were careless."_ Logic " _We were stupid."_ Emotion.

And that's how the war in his head went when he was not preoccupied with some other task. So if buckling down and doing his school work would help him forget he was all for it. Unfortunately there were still moments that week in which Kevin and Nazz would unintentionally remind him and it was back to square one. It was during one of these moments that it went from unintentionally to deliberate. As Edd was walking from his history class to his science class Kevin and Nazz were walking down the hall in the opposite direction toward him. He tried to pass by them putting Nazz between Kevin and himself, once he had passed however a hand grabbed him by the arm turning him to look straight into green eyes. "Hey dork I need to talk to you." Kevin's look was kind of pleading. "When can I get a hold of you?" Nazz was behind Kevin looking at the scene with confusion then her brows furrowed a little upon his last question.

Trying to be polite and avoid the jock at the same time Edd spoke. "Unfortunately Kevin I will be unavailable to assist you in whatever classes your needing tutoring in for the foreseeable future." Why he was trying to help Kevin cover up his actions was beyond him, probably best not to cause ripples in the water.

"O ok."Kevin lets go of Edd's arms slowly. "Well I'll see you around then dork." Edd turns and starts walking off but could hear Nazz's question.

"So what was that about?" She said with a little venom in her voice emphasizing "that"

"Like he said I need tutoring." Kevin said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well you don't need to be associating with people like him. Really Kevin why you're being so nice to him I will never understand. You're like the most….." She was now out of ear shot of Edd but he had gotten the gist of the conversation. They were popular he was not and therefore has no place talking to them.

After the next class it was lunch time and on his way to the cafeteria Edd stopped off in the second floor restroom to heed Mother Nature's call. While he was in the stall relieving himself, the bathroom door opened and closed a person entered walked to one end of the room then back and out again. Immediately the door opened again another individual enters but does not take a stall so Edd figured they went to a urinal. Edd finished what he was doing and exited the stall to be greeted by Nazz. "Nazz! What are you doing in here this is the boys restroom."

"No shit Sherlock, I have the boys outside making sure this little meeting of royalty and peasantry goes uninterrupted." She turns to the mirror on the wall and starts checking her lipstick using her pinky finger against the edge of her bottom lip, then looks at Edd through the mirror. "So queer I just wanted to let you know to stay away from my boyfriend. " Turns and walks toward him confidently as though she had nothing to fear from little old Edd. "He's better then you, you're a nothing and will never be anything in this school, so keep your fucking eyes to yourself, faggot" Her voice never raising as though being in his presents was beneath her and she was doing him a kindness by reminding him where his position in life was. "I'm glad we had this little talk." And she walks toward the door. "Don't forget to wash up Eddward." And she exits the room, immediately after she leaves the "boys" enter cracking their knuckles.

"You ready for this you little queer." They headed toward Edd, as he backs up against the wall. Both boys were wearing football lettermen jackets, so they were on Kevin's team.

"Now gentleman maybe we can talk about this." Edd says as his back hits the wall.

They only smirk once they reach our poor defenseless Edd. "Sure we can talk." He brings back his fist and strikes Edd right in the gut doubling Edd over the other boy grabs Edd by the hair turning his face and strikes him with his free hand. Edd is now on the floor between the two assailants curling up and protecting his head as both kick him cursing out homophobic remarks toward him. Once they were satisfied that he was ruffed up enough, one of them knelt down on one knee beside him grabbing him by the hair and lifting his head. "Now I hope you have learned your lesson queer, don't make us repeat ourselves."

"Hey man stop touching him you might catch the gay or worse AIDS." The other boy said.

"Not like there's much of a difference between them." The other boy lets go of Edd's hair then gets up and washes the hand he just touched Edd with. Both boys left and Edd sits up leaning against the wall waiting out the pain. After about ten minutes Edd gets off the floor and goes to the sink washing off the blood that head come from his nose and walks out of the bathroom and to the cafeteria, he got his lunch like normal and walked to the table his friends were at and sits down normally. He wasn't going to show weakness, he wasn't going to let those fucking assholes think they got to even the slightest bit of him.

Once seated Ed takes in his friend's appearance and exclaims "Holy shit D what the fuck happened to you."

"Just a little disagreement about the way things should be at this school." Edd said as he started to eat his lunch.

"Who did that to you Double D?" Eddy said mouth a little open at his friend's scuffed up face. "We'll kick their ass."

"Now Eddy an eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind." Double D was not one for violence but the way their comments made him feel he wouldn't mind seeing them suffer a little, but he was determined to be the better person in this situation.

"Fuck that shit, we take care of our own, we can't let those bastards think they can do this to you." Eddy said and Ed nodded in agreement.

"EDDY!" Double D said rather loudly drawing a few closer people's attention "Just leave it alone alright I wouldn't want you to get hurt on my behalf." Double D sighs."Besides they would just come back after me again to get even with you for going after them." Again the event that had occurred just a little while ago started playing in his mind, all those foul words that the boys tossed at him echoing in his head. Double D was doing his best to hold back the tears but he was unable to hold them all from coming out, one fell against his will. "I'm sorry, I got to go." Double D got up and at a quick walking pace trying not to look to desperate to leave, exited the cafeteria and to the nurses office. Once there and explaining the situation Edd complained of stomach pain, the nurse wasn't stupid she knew he just didn't want to be here anymore. She called Edd's mother who took a little time off to pick up her son and drive him home she as well knew it wasn't about his stomach but his pride.

After school Ed and Eddy came over to check up on their friend worried about him not only physically but emotionally. When they got to his room, having been let in by his mother, Ed spoke "Hey man how you holding up?"

Double D was on his bed lying on his side knees tucked in one arm around them Ed sits on the bed Eddy takes the desk chair. "I'm doing alright." His voice harsh from crying but trying to hold up a brave front for his friends knowing they could see it but he was determined to down play it.

Ed puts his hand on Double D's shoulder trying to get him to turn and face them, Double D complies, turns and wipes away the residue of tears on his cheeks. 'Hey man it will be alright ok." Double D nods not really wanting to talk knowing his voice might break and a flood of new tears might fall with the effort. "We found out what happened man and who did it."

Double D shakes his head and very weakly says "Don't, don't do anything ok, it won't turn out good."

"They're calling you a faggot man" Eddy always the brash one. "You're not a fucking queer are you?"

"Eddy, leave it alone!" Ed in a very forceful voice turns on Eddy.

"I'm just sayin, I don't want no fairy as my friend." Eddy turns side to side in the desk chair.

"Shut the fuck up or get the fuck out Eddy, you're not helping." With that Eddy left the room and then the house getting in his car and going home. "Don't pay him no mind D, you know he can be an ass and talk before he really thinks about it." Double D could feel the tears swelling up in his eyes again, He gets up and heads out of the room.

"I got to go to the restroom." He says as he exits the room and heads toward the restroom. Once inside he closes the door and the tears just start pouring down his face once again. Desperate to keep his sobs muffled as to not worry Ed, Double D sit on the toilet hands over his mouth hunched over his lap. _"They all know, Eddy's already leaving and I haven't even confirmed it, it's all over all of it. Everything I know is disappearing before my eyes. Ed will probably leave to if I confirm it, what will my parents do when they find out? Oh my god why did this have to happen to me now, why couldn't I just be normal?"_ The pain in the pit of Double D's stomach throbbed and stabbed at him continuing to grow bringing forth more tears. His logical mind completely shut off his emotional side in full swing. " _I'm going to hell anyways and no one will care if this stupid worthless fag existed."_ With that Double D stands up gets into the medicine cabinet, retrieving a bottle of his mother's antidepressants opens the bottle and tips it back taking them all into his mouth. Turns on the water and drinks deeply.

Ed worried about Double D gets off the bed and goes to the bathroom door hearing the water running knocks. "Are you alright man?" he hears a bottle hit the floor. "What are you doing in there D?" Knocking loader, no response just sobs. He tries the door it's locked. "Come on open up D, open this door." No response for Double D, he rams the door with his elbow, it doesn't give.

Double D's mother hearing the noise comes to the bottom of the stairs. "What's going on up there?"

"I don't know Mrs. Kanker Edd won't open the door and he's crying and won't answer me." Double D's mother runs up the stairs and starts knocking on the door.

"Edd sweetie its mother would you please open up for us." Her voice sounding desperate and pleading at the same time.

"Just leave me alone." Edd says through sobs.

Having enough of this Ed steps back "Do you mind if I?" He motions with his foot as though kicking. Edd's mother nods and Ed kicks sending the door flying open. They were met by Double D on the floor his tear stained face leaning against the toilet a empty prescription bottle on the floor. Ed rushes to Double D grabbing his face and looking into his eyes. "What have you done?" He says very angry at his friend. He turns to look at Double D's mother both her hands to her mouth a sob coming from her. "Call an ambulance." Ed orders she heads for the phone.

Pulling Double D away from the toilet slightly he lifts the seat then leans him toward the open bowl grabbing his chin with his left hand and holding the back of his head with his right so D couldn't squirm away from what he was going to do. He tries to pry open Double D's mouth with his forefinger with little success D's teeth were in the way. "Open your god damn mouth D." Through sobs and tears D turns his eyes to his friend seeing the concern his friend was having for him he realized that maybe not all was lost and he complies with his demand. Ed then shoves a finger down his throat getting the desired effect Double D gags and a slew of pills and water come up and into the bowl. Ed tries again getting a gag but nothing coming up this time. He goes to the sink and gets some water forces D to drink then sticks his finger down his throat once again only water comes back up. When the paramedics arrive along with the cops D was asked a few questions by the police, standard things like did he have a knife or weapon on him he was going to use while in the ambulance or was he going to go with the paramedics quietly and no cause trouble. All the answers being to the police man's liking, the paramedics then load Double D on the gurney. They sped on their way to the Hospital to have his stomach pumped.


	12. Sloth

Chapter 12- 10th grade Sloth

 **A/N- WWOOO that last one was a bit rough for me. Warnings- depressive nature and situations.**

When they arrived at the hospital Edd was wheeled into a small alcove in the emergency room area of the hospital with only a curtain separating him from the rest of the area. The EMT's transferred him onto the hospital bed and as they were leaving one of the EMT's turns to him placing his hand on Edd's shoulder and say. "It gets better, don't give up just yet." Then leaves with his partner an attendant was the only one left in the area with him. Just a few minutes later both Double D's mother and Ed come into the little alcove his mother had been noticeable crying. "What the hell were you thinking Eddward?" His mother's voice trembling but never did it raise from a soft tone.

"I wasn't mother that was the issue." Double D wasn't looking his mother in the eyes he felt quite ashamed about what he did in a moment of sorrow.

"Don't you ever do that again you hear me." She takes her hands and places them on his checks leans in and kisses his forehead. "I don't know what I would do without you. You're my baby ok and I love you very much." A nurse enters holding two plastic cups of black liquid substance with a straw in each.

"Ma'am, Sir I am going to have you to step out for a minute please." Addressing both Ed and Double D's mother she motions toward the hallway. Once both were gone she steps up to the head of the bed Edd was on. She hands him one of the cups. "Alright I need you to drink both these down ok." She watches him suck down one cup then the other. Picking up a trash can and putting it on the bed she then turns back to Edd. "That's going to take a minute to do its work but there's the trashcan when you need it ok." She pats the can for emphasis, gives him a half hearted smile turns and walks back out and talks to Edd's mother for a few minutes before leaving.

They both reenter the room and take a seat, Edd's mother pulling hers up to the head of the bed taking Edd's hand. "It will be alright baby, I promise it will be alright." Trying to hold back her tears and be strong for her child. Thirty minutes later the nausea hits Edd reaches up for the can and plants his face in it empting the contents of his stomach into the waste basket his mother rubbing circles on his back. Ed noticeably disturbed by the sounds of Double D vomiting but trying to keep up a strong front for him. Shortly after the vomiting had subsided Double D's father arrives He expresses his love for his son and giving a few words of encouragement before taking his seat. During the next hour blood was drawn, tests were done and results giving. Double D had not absorbed enough of the medication before Ed had forced it out of him to be lethal but he would have to stay for observation over night just in case. With the news and visiting hours coming to an end, Double D's parents took Ed home letting their son know they would be back tomorrow to pick him up. The entire night there was an attendant in the room watching over Edd to make sure he didn't slip back into a fit of depression and try something drastic again. Edd just slept most of the time after his parents left, not wanting to watch TV or eat, the pain of earlier events coupled with his regret for being so dramatic kept him from having the energy to want to do much of anything. The following day was a Saturday, Edd had been awake since four in the morning having fallen asleep around seven the previous night. Around nine, though he knew it would be too early, he decided to call Eddy. For two reasons first he wanted to see if Eddy was still being an ass about what people were saying about him, hoping Ed might have knocked some sense into him and second he was bored out of his mind just laying there and he was hoping his friend would visit and maybe bring something to read.

Once the phone was picked up Eddy's mothers voice came through. "Good morning Mrs. Davis is Eddy around?" Edd asks

"O Eddward, are you alright dear? I heard about what you tried yesterday and I am very upset with you. Don't you ever try something like that again. It broke my heart to hear you tried that." Eddy's mother is a very caring woman, she is just a bit of a rambler when she's upset.

"No Mrs. Davis I won't be trying that again, just a momentary lack of intelligence on my part." Edd was feeling more ashamed about what he had done, when he was in the moment he never realized that his actions would hurt so many people.

"I am glad to hear that hon, but be kinder to yourself ok." Edd could hear her walking and opening a door. "Eddy wake up your friends on the phone."

Edd could hear him through the phone. "Jesus Christ mom it's the butt crack of dawn."

"Eddy Skipper Davis you get your ass out of that bed and take this phone." Mrs. Davis was fuming. "And don't you dare use that language with me Mr. I put you on this earth I can take you off it." She passes the phone to Eddy.

"Ya ya mom, sheesh." A very groggy Eddy says "Hello"

"Greetings Eddy, I am sorry that I woke you." Edd was sounding a little more meek than usual.

"Double D? Hey man how are you doing? Ed told me what happened after I left." The normal confidence in Eddy's voice was gone.

"I'm doing fine Eddy it's nothing to worry about." Edd was still being meek not really sure how to proceed with the conversation, but he had to know if Eddy was giving up on him and just being polite.

"That's good glad you pulled through." Still none of his confidence in his voice.

"Yeah the miracles of modern medicine."Edd let out a small laugh with no feeling in it. "So visiting hours start around eleven and I was hoping you could bring me something to read while I wait to be discharged and maybe si…."

Eddy cuts in. "I'm sorry D but I got things I have to take care of today so I really don't have time to come visit you." Edd felt a sharp stab to his heart was he really doing this, making excuses. "Ya so I should let you go, I need to get ready, early bird and all." Not even waiting for a farewell from Edd, Eddy hangs up the phone. Edd's heart breaks a little and he could feel his throat tighten and his vision goes blurry looking over at the attendant he sees her watching him. He quickly turns to face away from her but the tears come anyway and he buries his face in the pillow. As the tears roll down his face to be absorbed by the pillow and his muffled sobs come from his constricted throat. He felt a hand on his shoulder gently rubbing back and forth.

"It will be alright hun, it will get better, don't let it bring you down. It's only words and actions from people who ten years from now won't mean a thing to you. And if that friend of yours can't see how special you are they're not worth your time." She takes Edd' hand with her free hand and sits on the bed. "I know its ruff and I know it's hard to let someone go who you value but doesn't value you. But in the long run you will feel better if you prune those dead leaves and concentrate on the core which is you." She sat there comforting him until he fell asleep again, he was only asleep until eleven when visiting hours started up both Ed and his parents came again that day as they said they would. After the psychiatric doctor had made his visit, asking a few questions here and there about how Edd felt and if he was thinking of continuing this course of action, Edd was released into his parents care with orders to give him time to heal in a stress free environment, which translated to no school for a week.

The following week was boring for Edd though he didn't want to face his attackers he didn't want to sit around at home doing nothing as well. Mostly only getting visits from Ed after school, Ed was reassuring him that Eddy would come around, he just needed time to realize that what people were saying was bull shit. Ed spent a lot of time when he wasn't with Double D's convincing Eddy of this and also pointing out that even if it was true that Double D was the same person. Halfway through the week Edd was sitting on the couch in his living room watching a few movies Ed had lent him to help occupy his time when there came a knock at his door. Getting off the couch and shuffling to the door pretty sure it would be two men with black slacks white dress shirts and black ties with name badges wanting to spread the word of the lord he opens the door. And quickly wants to shut it again, on the other side was Kevin standing there hands in his pocket looking worried.

Midway through closing the door again Kevin puts his hand on it to stop it. "Hey I just want to talk ok, I was worried, you haven't been to school since what Nazz did and I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Kevin blurts out hoping to get it all out before Edd tries to shut the door again.

"O so you knew?" Edd tried his best to look mad knowing it wouldn't really phase the jock. He was like a mage trying to tank a raid boss

"Not when it was happening no. I found out afterwards some of the boys were bragging about it." Kevin said quietly not looking Edd in the eyes. "When I confronted them about it they told me Nazz had them do it, they were pretty sure I was in on it and just went along with her."

Edd's logical side didn't want to believe it but the emotional side did, and at this point it was the stronger side, and desperate to fill the void that Eddy's absents had created. Still logic made him cautious of the jock that had used him before for his own ends. "Say I believe you, how can I trust you, you used me then ran to Nazz."

"Look dork I tried to explain that, though I probably didn't do a good job." Kevin sighs, rubbing the back of his neck he tries again. "I have an image to uphold, and having a girl under my arm is a part of that." Who was Edd to argue that he had done the same thing with Angelica. "It's all for show I don't care about her at all, I care about you, and besides I broke up with Nazz as soon as I found out what she did to you." The look in Kevin's eyes was one of sympathy, pleading and apology. "All I am asking for is another chance. Please let me make this right."

"I don't know Kevin I just don't. I am not in a place right now where I can take much more hurt ok. I need time to think and I need space to make a choice. I don't want to hurt you if what you say is true but I also don't want to be hurt by you if what you're telling me is a lie." Edd hoped what he said made sense, it barely did to him, why should he care if he hurts him, Kevin has already proven that he doesn't care if he hurts Edd at all. But there were just too many confusing signals come from the jock if he didn't care why is he here if he does care why abandon Edd after what they did together. Edd's head was spinning just thinking all of it through and always coming up with no real answer. "I am going to have to go Kevin I need you to leave now, I just can't talk about this right now."

As Edd closed the door he could have sworn that Kevin looked like his heart was breaking. His emotional side was yelling open the door and run into his arms. As if, what was that side expecting sweet music to play in the background while the world went into slow motion. It just doesn't work that way and the logical side was growing stronger again. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, he was determined to not be the fool this time. Returning to the couch he wrapped himself up in his blankets and continued his movies all the while weighing all that has transpired between Kevin and himself trying desperately to find an answer so he could put his mind at ease.


	13. Greed

Chapter 13- 10th grade Greed

 **A/N- We're coming down the home stretch now, Nathan belongs to c2ndy2c1d Warnings-Reference to drugs, sexual situations, Language, homophobic language. PS these next couple of chapters might be rather long. Also suggested song for a certain part of the chapter is What If by Coldplay you will be prompted where to start the song it represents Edd's inner thoughts on the situation.**

While Edd was off on his little vacation from school a new kid had transferred in, he and Ed quickly becoming friends, Double D met him the Monday he returned to school. As he was walking into the school at the start of the day Ed was sitting on the ledge beside the doors, next to him facing Ed with his back to Double D as he approached, was a young teal haired boy probably around the same height as Double D was, The weather now starting to change to winter the morning was rather cold, both boys were wearing heavy jackets with gloves and Ed was wearing a sock hat. Once Ed caught sight of Double D he called him over with a wave of his arm in a beaconing motion. "Hey D, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. This is Nat he just transferred in while you were out."

"Hey what's up?" Nat greeted with a nod of his head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Nathan." Edd holds out his hand to Nat.

Nat takes it with a firm grip "Hey you don't have to be so formal, Nat is fine."

"Ah, that's just how our Double D is, you'll get use to it." Ed say's smacking Double D on the back with his open hand.

"So any luck with Eddy? I didn't see him all week." Double D was looking a little upset at this, he was hoping to talk to Eddy this morning, he is normally with Ed before school. "I'm guessing his absents here means he is still being a jerk."

"Hey Double Delicious, I got the gist of what's going on from Ed here and if he is going to be acting like a douche over a few rumors then you're better off without him." Nat said seriously then a smile spread across his face. "Besides I'm here now and you won't even remember you had a friend named Eddy." Double D stared into those golden eyes and saw confidence and kindness and at that moment knew that no matter the outcome everything would be alright.

"Though I appreciate your kind words Nathan, would you be so kind though as to not call me Double Delicious." Double D cheeks began to blush a little when he repeated the nickname.

"Well how about Double Delectable? No how about Double Delightful?" Double D smiled a little at these silly nicknames. "See I knew I could get you to smile."

"Well how about we just stick to Double D, the kid doesn't need someone making assumptions from hearing your nicknames." Edd didn't look mad just stern. He didn't want any more trouble to fall upon his friend and pushing him over the edge again. Standing up he led the way into the doors of the school. It didn't take long for word to come to Edd's ears that Kevin had been good to his word. It appeared as though he broke up with Nazz the following Monday after she had Edd beat. Though the word was she was rather distraught at the sudden break up, she quickly rebounded and was already dating another one of the popular Jocks. Ahh young love how easily it can change like the tide rolling in and out. The rest of the Day went by pretty uneventful. Kevin did not talk to Double D at all that day but he did do a lot of staring at him whenever they passed in the halls. Eddy avoided him like the plague, not joining them for lunch or meeting them during their breaks between classes. Luckily Nazz had also seemed to have forgotten all about him as well, returning to only paying attention to the people that mattered to her, the A-list of the school and her new piece of arm candy of a boyfriend.

During the last break between classes for the day Ed finds Double D at his locker. "Hey D, why don't you come by my place today after school."

Though it had been a week since his incident in the bathroom Double D was still feeling pretty low, not to mention this whole thing with Eddy. "I don't know Ed, I am probably just going to go home and spend time with the family."

"Naw dude, fuck that shit your coming over." Ed's face pretty much told him there was no getting out of it and that he might as well agree.

"Alright Ed if you insist I'll be by your place once I drop my stuff off at home." Though this was his friend Double D was still feeling emotionally vulnerable and let out a sigh trying to rid himself of these anxious feelings.

"Cool, we'll smoke some chronic, play some video games and you'll get to know Nat a lot better." Edd's face turned into a smile with D's acceptance of his invitation. "He might take a little getting used to, but he's a good guy and I think you're going to like him." The warning bell goes off signaling class was about to begin,the two boys say their goodbye's and head to their final class.

After school let out Edd went straight home deposited his book bag in his room and sat on his bed fidgeting with his hands. Logic _"Get your ass off this bed and go to your friends, he wants to see you."_ Emotion _"How could he want to be my friend still, I'm a mess, it's just safer to stay here by myself, less chance to get hurt."_ Logic _"Yes there's less chance to get hurt but there's 100% chance of not living at all."_ Emotion _"But what if he finds out and leaves me like Eddy."_ Logic _"That's a possibility but until you actually take that road you will never find out, and you might be surprised by him."_ You go logic, and with that argument won by his rational side he takes a deep breath and leaves to go to Ed's. Once outside his door and down the street the phone in his house starts ringing, with no one there to answer, the answering machine picks it up and a certain red heads voice gets recorded. Once at Ed's he knocks on the door and Ed's mother answers. "Greetings Mrs. Samuels."

"Hello Eddward, how are you feeling?" A look of concern was set upon her face.

"Much better thank you." Edd said half heartily smiling, hoping she couldn't tell he was still trying to get over what had drove him to it in the first place.

"That's good honey, they are down stairs." She steps aside to let him enter and as he passes her she puts a hand on his shoulder. "And Eddward if you need anything you know you can call us, we will be there for you." She smiles and pats his shoulder then releases him so he can continue to his friends.

Upon reaching the basement he was greeted by both Ed and Nat, clasping hands in that all too familiar teenage male bonding rituals. "Hey D glad you made it." Ed's eyes told Double D that he was certain he wasn't going to show up. "So like I am an idiot and totally forgot that I was almost out, so I got to go get some more." Ed points at both Nathan and Double D, "Why don't you two wait here and I'll be back in a few and we can get baked."

"That's cool man, I'll keep Double Delectable here company. You go take care of what you need to." Double D gives Nat a look that told the teen he wasn't appreciating the nickname again. "Aww don't look at me like that D, I'm only telling the truth."

"Cool you two get to know each other and I'll be back in a few." Ed grabs his jacket and runs up the stairs and could be heard telling his mother that he would be back and they were down stairs. Nat was on the couch leaning into the corner one arm resting on the back his right leg on the couch bent so his ankle was tucked under his left knee.

Edd goes to the recliner and sits, Nathan adjust his position so he could see Edd better. "So do you want to watch a movie or play a game while we wait?" Nathan says trying to find a way to break the ice and get to know the boy sitting before him that Ed was raving about. He had been told that Edd could be shy at first but was fun as hell to hang with once he got to know you, and Nat was determined to get to know him.

"Yeah Ed has a few games we could play together if you'd like." Edd reaches under the coffee table and pulls out a box containing Ed's games and opens it. Flipping through the cases looking for a two player game he thought the teal haired boy might enjoy.

"We could just talk as well, help me crack the enigma that is Double D." Nat says pushing on Edd's knee playfully.

"There's not much to tell really." Edd shifts his knees so they were out of reach. "I'm just like everyone else really."

"Well Ed seems to think there is more to you, and I am pretty sure there is." Nathan smiles a little at Edd. "The entire week you were gone he kept telling me how much I needed to meet you that you were funny as hell and one of the smartest people I would ever meet."

Edd blushes slightly from the complements he was given. "O-o did he now?"

"Ya he did. Look man, you've got a really good friend there that you can lean on." Nathans face went a little serious. "I'm going to be up front with you man, I know what your hiding ok, I can tell I've been there myself, and I am pretty sure Ed knows to. He's not going to judge you man, and I want to be your friend as well, so when you're ready to open that door and come out into the world you know you have people that will support you and help you through it."

Edd was taken aback by this, did Nathan just tell him he was gay? "So are you saying to me what I think your saying?" A look of confusion was clearly on Edd's face.

"If what you think I'm saying is that I like guys then yeah, I'm bi." Edd looks at Nathan but didn't see any shame in his expression, he was so confidant so at ease with himself, as though this was the only thing he could ever be and that was ok. "I am quite open about it, not that I introduce myself with it "Hey I'm Nat and I'm bi" but I'm not going to hide it either. If they have a problem with it they can bring it, I'll kick their asses." Edd just took all this in not sure how to respond, could he truly be as open as Nat says he could be.

"It's complicated Nat, I don't know if I have the courage you do about this." Edd looks down at his hands which he had started fidgeting with.

"Hey like I said whenever you're ready I'll be here ok." As Nathan finished his sentence the basement door opened and two sets of feet started making their decent. Once Ed and Eddy reached the bottom of the stairs Eddy notices Double D and pulls Ed by the shoulder and whispers into his ear.

"The fuck Eddy, he's your friend." Ed pulls away from Eddy and walks over to stands by Double D in the recliner. "And it's about fucking time you acted like it."

Eddy looked rather put off by the situation starts shifting his weight from one foot to the other rubbing the back of his neck trying to think of what to say then opens his mouth. "Ed I just hear all the things they've been saying, then I start seeing him and its like it all fits, I just don't know man he isn't the Double D I thought he was."

"Eddy I'm still the same person you knew." Double D starts off meekly."You're my friend Eddy, we were like brothers." His voice starts to tremble a little and rises in volume. "But if you can't accept me for who I am then FUCK YOU, I don't need you." A few tears form in Double D's eyes, Ed just looks at him in disbelief Eddy has a shocked look on his face Nat was just observing ready to step in if needed.

"You see Ed he just admitted it, he's a fucking queer." Eddy motioned to Double D a look of utter disgust in his eyes.

"So what." Ed was starting to get angry, never did he think Eddy would just throw Double D away. "He's the same person you knew five minutes ago, nothing's changed, the only thing that's changed is how you see him." Ed takes a few breaths then continues. "I'm ashamed to know you Eddy. Sure I knew you might have a tough time with it but I never thought you would abandon him so easily."

"Fuck this shit, fuck all you cocksuckers." Eddy turns to start up the stairs. Ed quickly closes the gap and slams Eddy against the wall.

"That's fine Eddy, you be like that." Ed staring straight in Eddy's eyes a look of rage in his own. "But so help me if you breathe one word of this to anyone, I'll make sure you regret it." Eddy looked as though he was about to piss himself.

"What the fuck does it matter, it's going to come out anyways." Eddy's voice was barely audible.

"Because Eddy, I'm not going to let you get him beat up just because you have a problem with it." Ed releases Eddy and pushes him toward the stairs. "Now get the fuck out of my house." Eddy runs up the stairs and out the door. Ed comes back to the couch and sits down squatting over resting his elbows on his knees and his hands behind his neck. "Mother Fucker." He takes in a few breaths and sits up looking at Nat. "Hey Nat can I ask a favor?" Nat nods. "Can you take my pipe and things to your place for a little while? I don't think he'll do anything but just in case."

"Sure man no problem." Ed reaches under the table and hands the box of tricks to Nat. He stands up with the box in hand. "I should probably get going and get this out of here." Turns to Double D. "Congratulations Double D on the first step." Then he heads toward the steps and out the door.

Double D was in shock, what had he done, what if Eddy didn't heed Ed's warning and opens his mouth telling everyone. Seeing his friends expression Ed tries to comfort him. "It will be alright D, you got us, and we won't let anything happen to you."

"I appreciate the gesture Ed, but I really should be going, this has been way too much for one day." Edd gets up and starts heading toward the stairs.

"Yeah, well call me if you need anything man." Ed stands up and extends his hand to Double D, he takes it and was brought in for a one armed hug from his friend. "I love you man, you're my brother ok." He releases D and claps him on the shoulder. "I'll see ya around" Edd make the trek back to his house greeted by Lee as he walks in.

"So like some guy has called for you ten times man." Lee exclaims handing Edd the phone.

"Who?" Pretty sure it was Eddy wanting to be an ass again.

"I don't know they didn't leave their name, they just said you would know who it was." Lee flops down on the couch turning on the TV.

Edd looks at the caller ID and see Kevin's number several times. He takes in a deep breath, what could the jock want. Edd heads up to his room for a little more privacy and away from the prying ears of his sister then dials the number. Quickly the phone was answered with Kevin's voice coming through. "Edd is that you."

"Yes Kevin, what can I do for you?" Edd wasn't feeling very chatty at the moment.

"I just wanted to talk, I just wanted to say it was good seeing you at school today." Kevin seemed excited to have finally gotten hold of Edd.

"Is that all you wanted Kevin? To tell me you missed me?" Still in a foul mood and it was coming across in his tone.

"Are you alright?" Kevin asks.

"Yes, I just had a bit of a disagreement with a friend is all." Edd lets out a sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Why does Kevin care Edd thought to himself.

"No not really Kevin." Edd was tempted to just end the conversation still on the thought of how could he trust the jock.

"Hey man I'm trying ok, I want to earn your trust again. I know what happened was shitty and I'm sorry. I have never done anything like this before and I freaked out the first time." Kevin takes a breath then continues."I would like a second chance to see what this is I'm feeling for you. Whether we could be more and hopefully see if I can earn you."

Logic _"You shouldn't trust him so easily, he hurt you once he might do it again."_ Emotion _"He was just scared, it's a valid reaction, this isn't your typical type of relationship. He's allowed to make mistakes."_ Logic _"Fine, but no third chance."_ Still not at a complete decision on the subject Edd takes a leap of faith "Alright Kevin I'll give you one more chance. But don't get this wrong there will not be another."

"That's cool I understand, we can talk and hang out, let you get to know the real me." Kevin seemed a little relieved at getting another chance. The rest of the conversation was small talk like they had done the first time they attempted this, but Edd had his guard up not letting the jock in so easily. He was determined not to be made to look like the fool this time. Finally ending the phone call thirty minutes later and heading down to dinner.

"So was that your boyfriend Eddward." Lee teases.

"Lee that's enough of that. Why you have to keep insinuating that your brother is gay is beyond me." Their mother chastises.

"Sorry." Lee pouts but whispers "Just seems a little long to be talking to just a friend."

The next day at school nothing was said about Edd's sexuality, apparently Ed's threat to Eddy's well being had taken root and kept the loud mouth from uttering a word and it remained that way. Over the next month Kevin and Edd talked on the phone regularly with constant teasing from Lee about it. Occasionally meeting up for a movie or going out for pizza, always during the week when it was less likely that someone from school would see them together. Over time Edd's guards started dropping one by one. Edd was awoken one night to the sound of a click at his window, at first he thought he had been dreaming and woke himself up, but then it came again a little tap as though something small was being tossed at it. Getting out of bed he pulls back the curtain to see in the pale moon light Kevin standing in his backyard in mid swing for another rock. Click against the window, finally noticing Edd was looking at him he drops the rest of the tiny rocks and waves up at Edd. He returns the wave and lets go of the curtain, looking at his clock it was past midnight, he yawns and heads down the stairs to the door opening it to address Kevin.

 **(Begin the song here What If by Coldplay)**

"You do realize what time it is Kevin." Edd yawns again.

"Sorry I just had to see you." Kevin was shivering rubbing his arms with his hands trying to produce friction. "I'm freezing my balls off can I come in?" Edd begrudgingly allows it tomorrow was Saturday he could sleep in a little. They made their way to the living room and sat on the couch, Edd was half asleep still desperately trying to keep his eyes open. Kevin caresses his check "I'm sorry I woke you." He starts rubbing his thumb across Edd's cheek bone tenderly. Edd wakes up a little from the contact and looks into Kevin's green eyes.

"What are you doing Kevin?" Edd is a little apprehensive at the jocks actions.

"Just showing you a little affection." He slides his hand down Edd's neck and into his lap taking one of Edd's hands and caressing it with his thumb. "I want you to know how much I like you and sometimes words are not enough." Reaching up with his other arm he gently takes Edd by the neck and pulls him in for a kiss. Edd was understandably stand offish about it at first, but slowly the jocks passion seeps into him bring out his desire for the boy. Slowly their lips preformed a well timed dance of desire, Kevin sucking on Edd's bottom lip brings a small soft moan from the boy that amplifies his need for the jock. Both boy's as though reading the others minds tilt their heads to the side opening their mouths to deepen the kiss. Their tongues danced with one another perfectly neither one over powering the other nor were they seeking to. Edd brings his left hand to Kevin's cheek his right to his chest. Kevin Leans Edd back against the couch's arm rest adjusting himself so his right leg was now on the couch to help support his weight over the boy. Reaching under Edd's shirt he slowly made his way up to his nipple rubbing it with his thumb while kissing down the boys jaw line to his neck sucking greedily at a sensitive spot.

"No marks please." Edd moans out quietly Kevin listens and moves the collar of his shirt and placing his attention to the boys collar bone getting him just as much of a response as from the neck. Kevin started rubbing his groin against Edd's, with only wearing pajama pants he could tell the jock was getting excited from their activities. The warning bells started going off but it just felt so good he didn't want it to end. Kevin's having noticed the erection in Edd's pants brings the hand that was under Edd's shirt to squeeze and play with Edd's growing member. He returns his lips attention back to Edd's lips bringing forth even more passion to them. If the first set of kisses could be described as a waltz these were the tango. Both logic and emotion had shut off and lust was now in control, Edd started grinding up into Kevin's hand his moans were becoming loader his hands were exploring the jocks perfect body. As Edd was being worked into a frenzy of desire a door was heard closing upstairs Kevin breaks their kiss.

"What was that?" Kevin looks a little panicked he sits up putting some distance between himself and Edd.

"It was probably just mother going to the restroom." Edd still lust filled, wanting the jocks touch to return to his body. But slowly the logical and emotional sides were coming back to life inside his head.

"I should probably get going, I didn't mean for it to go this far." Kevin looked apologetic and nervous.

"Yeah it's probably for the best, we don't want to go to fast." Edd's lust was diminishing with each second and logic side becoming stronger.

"Yeah there's always another time. I want you to be ready and not do it because I want it." Kevin kisses him on the lips tenderly. "I'll see you at school." Another kiss then he gets up and leaves through the door. Edd now fully awake and with a little problem locks the door and goes back to his room hoping taking care of that problem will allow him to go to sleep.


	14. Gluttony

Chapter 14- 10th grade –Gluttony

 **A/N- Warnings-Homophobia, references to Drug use, Depressive Nature, Language. Nathan belongs to c2ndy2c1d.**

Edd slept in the following day it was almost ten o'clock when he woke up. Admonishing himself for allowing this to happen he gets up and starts his usual routine of brushing his teeth and showering then picking something casual to wear for the day. He headed down stairs and toward the kitchen, as he neared it he could hear Lee in a heated conversation. "…the fuck alone you queer." She hangs up slamming the phone on the counter.

"Who was that?" Edd asks rather sheepishly seeing the look of rage in his sister's eyes. She quickly picks up the phone again pushing a few buttons on the key pad and lay's it back down.

"No one, don't you worry about it. I just had to put someone in their place." She walks out of the kitchen sipping her coffee not looking Edd in the eyes.

Curiosity got the better of Edd and he walks over to the phone and picks it up looking at the redial option, it was blank, so was the caller ID Lee had erased them. Not wanting to dwell on it he decides to let it go and go about his day like normal fixing himself a small breakfast and heading up to his room to finish his homework for the weekend while waiting on his friends to wake up. He would be spending a good portion of the day over at Ed's with both him and Nat. Nat had proven himself an invaluable alley in this turbulent time, with his and Ed's support he was sure he could face whatever came down the road, whether it came from Eddy and his big mouth or some other source. The boys spent that Sunday in their usual way smoking pot, playing video games, or enjoying a horror film. Though good times where had, Edd could not overcome the feeling that a piece of the puzzle was missing with the absence of his friend. Edd left shortly after six to have dinner with his family and watch a movie, Lee was noticeably in an irritated mood that night leaving in a huff after dinner was finished going to her room not to be seen for the remainder of the evening. After watching Hairspray with his parents, admiring Divine and Ricki Lake for their performances in the John Waters film, he went to his room to try and sleep.

Monday morning came too quickly for his tastes having thrown his sleep schedule off the day before he had spent a good chunk of the night tossing and turning. Once awake he completed his morning routine and went down to the kitchen to get a little something to eat before school, as he walked through the living room Lee was on the phone once again. "Yeah, just make sure you bring it with you, mmhmm I'll see you there." Hanging up she gives Edd a "what the fuck" look gets up and walks into the kitchen. "Dad I'm ready, I got to meet Tommy there we got a project to go over before school starts." She grabs her book bag off the floor by the kitchen table and slings it over her shoulder and quickly leaving the room again.

"I'll be right there honey." He turned to Edd. "Have a good day sport." Leaving the room to join Lee in the living room then they both went out the door. Edd quickly gets himself something to eat then to the bus stop. Thirty minutes later the bus arrived at school and Edd met his two friends Ed and Nathan at their usual spot by the front doors. They chatted for a few minutes there quickly making plans for after school, Ed leading the way they walked into the building and down to their lockers. Once around the corner Double D noticed that his locker looked different and that people who were walking past it were staring. As the locker came better into view Double D's heart sank, spray painted in big black letters were the words die faggot going from the bottom left to the upper right. Double D dropped his books and fell to his knee's Nathan and Ed were in disbelief.

Nathan scoops down to Double D and picks him up. "Hey it's alright, they're only words."

"I'm going to kill that fucker." Ed says clinching his fists.

"Ed don't assume it was Eddy. Remember Nazz and those jocks were saying the same thing before about me it could be them." Double D just didn't want to believe Eddy would do this to him regardless of his feelings about his sexuality. Edd quickly turns back around and makes his way back toward the office to report it so they could hopefully have it off before first period ended.

On their way there Ed was thinking hard about it. "My money is still on Eddy. He is the only one that knows for sure beside us." Double D trying to contain the panic that was welling up inside of him only shook his head. "Well can you think of anyone else it could be, anyone that might know."

"Only one but I have to ask him by myself." Double D was barely audible.

"Why by yourself?" Nat asks concerned.

"Because I am pretty sure they are still in the closet regardless of what they told me." Double D replied a little louder now, the panic starting to take over. Why would Kevin do this if it was him? Last time they met he was all about proving himself to Double D, earning his trust.

"But if they are the one, and they want to hurt you for whatever reason, then you could be in danger meeting them by yourself." Nat was concerned and it was shared by Ed.

"Well I am smart enough not to do it at school or in person, I would call them and confront them." They reached the office Double D opens the door and goes to the desk to report the vandalism. Both Nat and Ed were told to go ahead to class seeing how it was about to start, Edd spent the next twenty minutes giving the vice principal as much information as he could which at that time was very little. Edd was then released with a pass to go to his class, he made a quick stop by his locker to grab his books where a janitor was already scrubbing the spray paint off. As the day went on the number of comments toward Edd increased, starting simply with a few boys calling him a fag as he passed them in the hall as he went to his second period, while in the class spit wads were being hurled at him along with crumpled up notes that had more homophobic comments on them one saying he should just kill himself. Of course all of this was done while the teachers back was turned. Ed and Nat found Double D after second period to let him know that the rumor about him was flying around like wildfire and to see if he was getting any ill treatment. Once they heard what had transpired during his trip to second period and during it they had decided it was best for them to walk Double D to his classes when they could.

Edd continued on threw the day all the while the taunts increasing steadily and equeally increasing his stress and fear. It was after forth period while Edd was on his way to lunch that neither of his friends could meet him right away. While he was walking to his locker to deposit his books that he saw Kevin accompanied by two of his jock friends, the same ones who had beaten Edd up over a month ago. As they were passing by Edd made eye contact with Kevin, who quickly averted his gaze, the closest of Kevin's friend yells. "What you looking at faggot." He brought back his fist moving forward a little in a mock show of wanting to hit Edd. Edd flinches turning his head a little bring up his shoulders, when no impact happens he returns his gaze to Kevin. "Looks like he's got the hots for you Kevin."

Kevin's expression turns mean at that point. "What the fuck are you staring at queer." With that Edd turns his head away from them and runs to his locker. A few taunts thrown his direction as he fled, rounding the corner both Ed and Nat come into view and perked up as they see Double D running readying themselves if anyone was following him, fortunately there was not. His locker was only a short ways from the corner and he made it to his friends quickly. Both boys visually inspect him to find no injuries, the only thing noticeable about Edd was that he was trembling from the fight or flight response.

Nathan puts a hand on Double D's shoulder and looks him in the eye "You're alright D, no one's following you." Double D's shaking wasn't subsiding, Nathan then brings him into a protective hug rubbing his back trying to calm him and Double D just stands there frozen in place. "I know today has sucked, it's alright we got you." Double D brings his arms up from under Nat's arms and clasps his shoulders tight breathing deeply to calm himself. The thought that this probably was all Kevin's doing running rampant in his head. But why would he do this what did he have to gain from it, if Double D was ultimately just a booty call, why would he start the rumor before getting what he wants, so it just didn't make sense. After a minute or two, Double D started calming down, he released Nathan and quietly thanked him, turning to his locker he starts dialing in the combination.

Ed cleared his throat. "D we need to talk. We found out who started this." Double D finished the combo and opened the locker, a piece of paper falls to the ground. "You're not going to like it." He bends down to pick it up. "Lee started it." Double D turns to Ed a look of disbelief upon his face mixed with sadness, why would Lee do this. "Her and Tommy spray painted your locker and she's the one who has been telling everyone about you." It clicked, the noise Saturday night was her, but how much did she see?

"But I am the only one that she has started this about?" Ed nods to the question. She couldn't see Kevin's face and didn't recognize his voice so she only knew it was a boy she saw him kissing.

"What's this?" Nat takes the piece of paper in Double D's hand and opens it, his face grows into concern Ed snatches it from him reads it and looks at Double D.

"What? What does it say?" Not getting a response he snatches it back, on the paper was written, we're going to kill you after school faggot. You're going to burn in hell where you belong. Double D's face contorts in pain, he runs a hand through his hair as he rereads the paper.

"That it we're getting you out of here." Ed grabs Double D by the arm and starts dragging him to the closest exit.

"But they will have won Ed. They will know they can get to me." Edd's eyes were filled with fear one way or the other he knew the battle was lost already, he was outmanned and outgunned.

"It won't matter who wins or who loses if they plan on going through with this." Ed would not let go he was almost at a run.

"He's right D, we are going to do what we can to keep you safe." Nat looked as worried as Ed did. "We'll show this to your parents and they can take it from there."

"But they don't know about me, I haven't told them yet." A tear rolled down Edd's check, the fear of being cast out by his parents overwhelming him, Lee's betrayal had already strengthened that fear.

They exited the building making their way as quickly and stealthily as possible across the parking lot. "Sorry man but you're going to have to cross that bridge now." Ed said apologetically but sternly. "And if it burns along the way you know you have a place with me, my folks wouldn't let you be homeless." They made it off campus and called Ed's mother to pick them up, when she arrived they showed her the note and explained what has been going on that day.

"O honey I'm sorry you're having to deal with this." Mrs. Samuels said looking in the mirror at Edd. "If your parents do the unthinkable Ed is right you have a place with us." A small beacon of light was shining through the darkness that was Double D's world at the moment. "And don't you worry we will be there when you tell them." They made their way to Ed's house and talked for a long while, first Edd explained how he thought Lee found out, then the three of them tried to reason why Lee had done this none of them coming up with a solid one. After that unsuccessful venture they spent the remainder of the time waiting for Double D's parents to get home trying to keep his mind off the upcoming event. When the time came they all four climbed back into Mrs. Samuels car and drove to Double D's, when they arrived his parents had not arrived yet but they were met by Lee sitting on the couch.

Ed fuming very loudly asks. "Why'd you do it Lee, why did you out your brother?" Lee jumps up trying to keep the coffee table between her and Ed. Circling around toward the living room door where Double D Nat and Ed's mother were standing squeezing through them with two more sets of accusing eyes following her movements she starts up the stairs. Once at the top she yells down. "Because Queers are against god's plan. They're sinful and wicked."

"You know they were threatening to kill him.' Nat was trying to reason to her sisterly side. "Did you really want that for your brother?"

"Better dead then a fag, and that is not my brother." She enters her room and slams the door. Double D cringes at the noise from the door, the hurtful words still ringing in his head, would his parents think the same thing. The four of them went into the living room and sat down awaiting Edd's parents. A few minutes later Lee comes barreling back down the stairs headed for the door making her quick getaway but before closing the door she turns and smiles wickedly. "Wait till mom and dad find out, they will probably send you to a straight camp, Tommy says it did wonders for him." She closes the door.

"That girl nuts if she thinks Tommy really likes her." Nat said then turned to Edd. "Don't let her get to you, she's got a lot of growing up to do, and if she doesn't change well you're better off, you don't need venom like that in your life." Nat rubbed Edd's knee to reassure him and comfort him, Nat was always so kind. Not to mention patience for putting up with all this drama Edd was putting him through.

"If she was my daughter I would beat that little bitch's ass." Mrs. Samuels said matter-of-factly all in attendance were a little shocked. Mrs. Samuels normally was as polite as Edd.

While they waited Edd realized that Kevin should be home decided to find out where they stood, knowing from his reaction at school what the answer was he still thought he needed the closure. He picks up the phone lets the others know he would be back and heads to his room. He dials the number it rigs a few times then finally picks up.

"EDD?" Kevin's voice comes through the speaker.

"Yes Kevin it's me." Edd speaks quietly. "You know why I'm calling don't you."

"Yeah." Kevin pauses but then continues. "Your sister called me yesterday and told me to stay away from you and if I didn't she would find out who I was and tell everyone."

Edd was even more pissed now at his sister, that was the call she erased yesterday, his voice rises. "You told me your friends knew about you."

"I lied." Kevin's voice just as loud then dropping again to a whisper. "I thought you would loosen up with me if you thought I was confident enough to be open about myself. And with what's happened today I can't risk it. I'm sorry I can't see you anymore." The line goes dead, Edd throws the phone on his bed and collapses, cursing his sisters existence wishing she had never come down here to live.

Nathan having heard Edd shout went upstairs and opens the door slowly sees the phone busted having bounced off the bed and slamming against the wall and a wrecked Edd on the floor. The poor guy had been through a lot today, Nat's heart breaks a little for his friend. He comes into the room kneels beside Edd and brings him into his arms once again. "I guess he left you hmm?"

"That obvious was it." Edd lightly laugh through his tears

"Yeah it explains the phone and shouting." Nat was rubbing the back of Edd's head which was nestled against his chest soaking tears into his shirt.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to be a burden on you. I've put you and Ed through so much lately." Along with everything else Edd was also fearing he was driving these two away.

"No need for that, you're fine I'm here for you, I told you I would be and I will be." Nat leaned Edd back a little wiping the tears away with his thumb looking Edd in the eye. "You got me and Ed and we aren't going anywhere." Seeing the pain in Edd's eyes Nat was filled with the urge to protect him. "You going to be alright?" Edd nods. "Do you need another minute?" Edd shakes his head, Nat then stands and extends his hand to Edd "Come on we should go back downstairs with the others." They rejoined Ed and his mother in the living room, only having to wait a few more minutes before Edd's mother enters the house looking confused at the number of people in her living room and a distraught looking Edd among them.

"Honey is everything alright." Mama bear always ready to help her cub.

"Leslie we need to talk." Ed's mother stands up to face her.

"Stacy what is going on?" Concern growing on her face wondering what this could all be about.

"Well, first Edd needs to tell you something." Stacy motions to Edd on the couch. "Remember he is still your son and how much you love him." Trying to brace her for the news Edd was about to give her hoping that she wouldn't react like Lee.

"Mother." Edd falters, noticing this Nat grabs his hand for support, holding that hand like a life line Edd continues. "I'm gay." He looks up at his mother and sees tears forming in her eyes fearing the worst he preps himself for the verbal onslaught of bible verses and turns his eyes to the floor.

But none came, through a few sobs she asks. "Are you sure honey? This isn't a faze or something?" Edd just shakes his head, she walks over to him falls to her knees in front of her son and wraps her arms around him hugging him deeply. "I love you Eddward, you are my son and that will never change." She sniffles a little. "I'm sorry, I'm not crying because your gay I am just a little sad I won't be getting any grandchildren from you. I was looking forward to spoiling them."

"He can always adopt ma'am." Nathan chimes in.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Edd's mother smiles through her tears. After tears were shed and subsided on all sides and love was reinforced from mother to son and back again. They came down to the dirty business of what Lee had done and said. They showed her the letter, explained the graffiti on Edd's locker, the harassment all day at school. "And Lee started all this."

"She damn near told everyone." Ed said with an expression and tone as though he wanted to ring Lee's neck.

"Stacy may I ask a favor of you?" Stacy nods in response. "Can Eddward spend the week at your place, I need to have a long conversation with his father about his daughter, and I would prefer it if Eddward wasn't around such a person until I can correct the situation."

"Of course I would be happy to have Edd stay for as long as needed." Stacy puts her hand on Leslie's shoulder to assure her.

"I am alright with it if he doesn't want to go to school tomorrow. I will be going up there myself tomorrow, to address their need to protect my child while he is there." She turns to Edd. "Honey I'm going to make this right, I can't change people's views but I am going to do my best to protect you." She hugs him again, in her opinion there were never enough hugs she could give at this moment to ensure her son knew she loved him deeply. Kissing him on the cheek then releases him. "Now go get your things ready." All three boys head upstairs to pack Edd's bags for the rest of the week gathering his toiletries and clothes placing them in a small carry-on suite case. Both ladies were talking when the boys returned downstairs. "Thank you Stacy I'll keep that in mind. And I'll call you if I need to talk." She stands again and comes to Edd. "You be a good boy ok, and I'll have you home as soon as I can." She Kisses him on the cheek again.

"I will mother, I love you." Edd squeezes a little bit more on the hug relieved that his world had not totally come crumbling down around him. They release on another, Edd picks up his bag and walks toward the door waves to his mother then leaves with his friends. When they reach Ed's house Nat calls his parents and explains the situation, they understood having gone through this themselves with their own son they allowed him to stay to support his friend. They all had dinner together once finished and the mess cleaned up, the boys retreated down to the basement to try and relax, which translates to smoke some pot, trying to whined down from the stress of the day. Later that evening, after brushing his teeth, Double D came back downstairs to find Ed making up a bed on the couch, he naturally gravitated towards it.

"O no you're taking the bed." Ed shoos him off with his hand. Seeing the look on his face he just points at Double D. "No arguing." Edd just does as he is told and heads to the bed and crawls into it pulling the covers over himself. A few minutes later Nat comes back down the stairs as well and Edd hears him thank Ed and a no problem in return, he feels the bed shift with weight turning he sees Nat sitting on the edge.

"Do you mind if I join you? I promise to be a gentleman." Nat says holding up his right hand his left over his heart. Edd nods and scoots over a little to make room for him. Nat climbs under the covers, being only a full sized bed there was very little room for the two of them and Nat had to spoon with Edd. When the lights went off Nat put his arm around Edd pulling him in close to cuddle, Edd being the emotional wreck he was assumed Nat was only after the same thing Kevin had been and decided to take what comfort he could get. He rolls over and puts his arm around Nat and leans up to kiss him. Nat reacts in the opposite way he was expecting and backs off.

"Woo D." Sensing he had hurt an already fragile Edd he continues. "Yes I am interested, I just don't want to take advantage of you when you're in this state of mind." He pulls him in to reaffirm this statement nuzzling the boy to his chest so Edd could hear his heart beat and breathing. "I want you to be ready, I want you to choose me because you want me not because you think you need me. And most importantly I want to take you out on a real date before we even consider that." All Nat's actions that day and in the little time they have known each other made Edd believe the validity of his statement. Edd contently nuzzled himself in Nat's chest listening to the sounds of his heart praying that it truly beat for him. Quickly falling asleep exhausted from the day he had, waking the next morning to find that he was still being held by Nat's strong arms protectively, even though he had rolled around in his sleep Nat had never let go of him.

Over the following week Edd's consumption of weed increased in a vain attempt to numb the pain from betrayal of his sister, the hurt he suffered at the hands of his peers, the loss of his friend and the feeling of stupidity he had about trusting Kevin both times. All the while Ed and Nat staying by his side trying to guide him away from using it in such a way, but always understanding that the boy was going through some major hurt in his heart, they never judge him for it, they just didn't want to see him destroy himself.


	15. Wrath

Chapter 15- 10th grade Wrath

 **A/N- Warnings- Language, Drug Use, Alcohol use, Homophobic Language, And Extreme Homophobic Actions. Nathan belongs to c2ndy2c1d**

Good to her word Edd's mother hand a very long and spirited conversation with her husband about the things his daughter had done and the danger that put her son in. Aw to have been a fly on the wall in that room, o but we can be. "There is no way she is staying in this house, under the same roof as my son, if this is the shit she is going to pull."

"But dear she's my…"Edd's father was cut off by a plate zooming past his head to shatter against the wall behind him.

"GET HER OUT OF MY HOUSE." Edd's mother had to take a breath to calm down. "Let her mother deal with her, I don't care if they rip each other apart, it's not my problem. But if you don't get her out of this house, I can promise you that I'll kill her if she so much as look's at Eddward wrong."

"Yes dear, I'll take her back to her mother's my next day off." Edd's father was hiding behind the kitchen door incase anything else was flung at him. He slept on the couch that night and every night until Lee was gone. The next day she goes to the school in a sort of manic state, think of the joker, she's smiling and polite one minute but the next she'll rip your head off shit down your throat and shove your head up your ass. This visit was to have a "polite" discussion with the principal and vice principal about the situation facing her son and make clear her wrath would be mighty if they did nothing. Getting the usual no tolerance of bullying speech, she stands and slams her hand upon the desk in one quick movement.

"Look gentlemen they threatened to kill my son and if the two of you do nothing to ensure his safety I will make it my personal mission in life to undo yours. And if that's as simple as heading up a movement to have the school board replace the both of you I'll do it, or to ensure you never work in education again I will." Fire burning in her eyes this momma bear was readying her claws for battle. The two men agreed that Edd's two friends would be allowed to leave their classes five minutes early to meet Edd and escort him to his locker and classes. Also that the teachers would be encouraged to stand out in the halls more, keeping an eye on the students, instead of just sit behind their desks doing paperwork in-between classes. Finally happy with the response she got from the two of them she left to go to work for the day.

Eddward, having woken up in Nat's arms, was excited about the possibilities that Nat's actions and words from last night meant. He still did not want to get his hopes up, just in case Nat was just being kind by comforting him. But Nat's words ran through his mind _"Yes I am interested, I want you to choose me, I want to take you out on a real date."_ It filled Edd with happiness, banishing all that had transpired yesterday temporarily, he rolled over and nuzzled himself into Nat's chest listening again to his heart beat as Nat slept. As Edd did this Nat's arm tightened around him bringing him closer, Nat hummed in contentment rubbing his cheek against the top of Edd's head, He sleepily greeted Edd. "Good morning D." Nat yawned, bringing his arm, which had been folded under his own head, under Edd's so he could encircle both his arms around the boy he drifted halfway back to sleep. Only being five in the morning the two of them had a little over an hour to lay there in each other's arms before needing to wake up. They lay their sleepily talking to one another. "Mmmm you feeling better today?" Nat says as he enjoys the warmth of Edd's body against his.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little bit better thank you. I'm still nervous about going back to school." Edd replied taking in Nat's scent as he breathed.

Nat shifted just a little repositioning himself but not releasing Edd. "Your mom said it was alright for you to skip today, so you don't have to worry about it for now."

"Still that's only delaying the inevitable" Edd replied as he adjusted himself to compensate for Nat's movements.

"Don't worry about it for now D, let us find out what your mom has arranged with the school and we will go from there." Nat caressed Edd's back with the tips of his fingers lightly. All this affection and touching from Nat was making Edd's teenage body react, not wishing him to notice Edd roll's over so his back was against Nat's chest. But being in this position brought it to his attention that Nat's body was having the same reaction, he shifts his hips forward just a little so he wasn't rubbing up against it. "Sorry about that, he has a mind of his own." Nat chuckles a little.

"Nothing to apologize about Nathan, a morning erection is perfectly normal." Edd was blushing deeply.

"Would you two love birds stop talking I'm trying to sleep." Ed moans out and shifts on the couch. "Like I want to hear about your hard-on's for each other this early in the morning."

Nat just laughs a little. "Sorry Ed." Edd blush Depends and he tries to hide his face under the covers. "O you don't have to be ashamed D, like you said it's perfectly normal."He laughs a little more as he squeezes Edd a little. The rest of the time they had till they had to get up, Nat and Edd lay there cuddling in silence testing each boundaries with caresses and gentle touching, never crossing that line to make it to sexual. The most the line was crossed was when their clothed erections would rub together through their pajama's, but out of respect for each other the boys would never push further by grinding, they both wanted to do this right and take it slow. With only ten minutes left before the alarm went off, they braved a gentle kiss and both boy's felt fireworks, they depend the kiss slightly bringing more passion to the surface. Edd's heart was pounding his breathing becoming slightly labored from the kiss and as his hand touched Nat's chest he could feel the quickened beat of the boy's heart. Their hearts felt as though they were trying to burst out of their own chests to embrace each other and then land in the other boy's chest. But with all things it must come to an end, and the alarm clock comes to life letting all three boys know it was time to get ready for school.

"O god why." Ed moans out. "Laying on this couch plus you two talking and playing tonsil hockey I've barely gotten any sleep." Ed rolls over placing his feet on the floor, Double D tries to hide his face again blushing furiously. "Let one mother fucker say one wrong word to me today, I might end up in jail." Ed rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands to try and bring the sleep out of them. "I'm going to take a shower, no funny business while I'm gone." Ed got his clothes together and starts up the stairs muttering. "I should have known better then to let you two horny bastards in my bed." Though grumpy from lack of sleep Ed was happy his friend was getting some positive attention from someone Ed trusted would treat Double D right.

"I didn't think we were that loud, did you?" Nat asks Edd only shacks his head still burying his face in Nat's chest. "Don't be embarrassed D, Ed's just teasing us, ever since I told him that I was into you he's been pushing me to make a move. I kind of had a feeling you were seeing someone though, I only confirmed that yesterday."

"We weren't really seeing each other, we were still just getting to know each other." Edd say's into Nat's chest still refusing to move from the spot.

Nat takes Edd by the chin and makes him look him in the eye "Well if he gave up on you that easily he doesn't deserve you." He kisses Edd gently sending electricity through the boy's body. "We should get up."

"I think we are already up." Edd didn't want to move from that spot he didn't want this to end, who knew when it would continue again.

"You perv, you know what I meant." Nat smiled, he was happy Edd was making jokes again, it let him know Edd would get through this. He untangles himself from the boy climbing out of bed then adjusting himself so he was no longer pitching a tent. He goes over and sits on the couch waiting for Ed to finish in the shower so he could take his turn. Edd gets up and follows him over to the couch his shy nature reasserting itself he sits on the far side of the couch. Nat still being tired but wanting attention lies down on the couch and put his head in Edd's lap "Yeah he's right this couch is super uncomfortable to lay on." Nat shifts his shoulders trying to get more comfortable. "Remind me to thank him again for letting us use his bed last night."

Edd shyly puts his hand on Nat's chest and slowly moves his hand toward Nat's, intertwining their fingers together. "I know it would be self-evident to most but I have to ask to make sure, does this mean we are dating?" Edd's voice was low and unsure of itself.

"If you want it to be Edd, like I said last night I want you to choose me because you want to be with me." Nat looked up at Edd hopefully while rubbing his thumb against Edd's.

"I would like that Nathan, I would like to give us a try." Edd said smiling. Shortly after Ed came back down the stairs fully dressed letting Nat know the shower was his, sitting up he gave Double D a small kiss then headed upstairs.

Once Nat was out of the room Ed sits in the recliner and address Double D. "So I guess from all the heavy petting this morning that he's finally grew a pair and asked you out." Double D blushed turning his head to hide it from Ed. "It's about damn time. I've been working on this shit since before you two met." The rest of the morning before Nat and Ed left for school was filled with idle chat and breakfast. Double D was sad when his friend and boyfriend left for school. Boyfriend, Double D liked the sound of that, it sounded of kisses and cuddles, late night movie watching and star gazing.

Once alone he goes back down to the basement and tries to keep himself busy watching movies or playing video games. But in his solitude the pain of his sisters betrayal resurfaces and his solution was to go for Ed's pipe. Having a little of his own stash left he smokes through it over the next hour and a half then dips into his friends stash, pretty sure Ed wouldn't be mad at him for it but also with the full intent of repaying him. After getting thoroughly backed Edd passes out on the couch around noon, being awoken again once Ed came home. He woke to find Ed loaming over him shaking his shoulder. "Hey D get up you got visitors." Sitting up he sees Nat standing behind the couch while Katie and Angelica were walking down the stairs.

Once Angelica sees Edd she practically runs to the couch landing beside Double D throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing out. "Edd I'm so glad your alright, when you disappeared yesterday I was so worried." Edd was taken aback he really hadn't had much interaction with Angelica since their break up a year ago. "When I heard everyone else had found out I was scared for you. Then you disappear I didn't know what to do." Double D puts his arms around her to comfort her.

"Thank you Angelica it makes me happy to know you care. I'm sorry for worrying you and how I treated you." Double D was yet again sad that he threw such a friendship away.

Angelica pulls back to look Double D in the eyes. "I've always been routing for you from the sidelines. I figured you'd come to me when you were ready. I never held anything against you, I can't change who you are." Edd smiles at her kind words thankful for another chance at their friendship. Everyone took a seat after the reunion of these two lost friends. Ed took the recliner, Angelica staying put right beside Double D, Katie took the seat beside her and Nat sat on the floor between Double D's legs one arm draped over his knee. Which earned a "You two look so cute together" from Angelica into Double D's ear. They discussed the current mood at the school toward Double D, what his mother had accomplished for him. The speech about inclusion the principal gave in the morning announcements and the reaffirming of no tolerance toward bullying. The fact that the teachers were more present in the hallways between classes then they went into the new rumors that he was hiding because he was scared or dead.

"Oh my, that's a lot to take in.' Double D said rubbing his chin.

Nat rubbed his shin with his free hand and turned a little to look at him as he talked. "Yeah and Ed and I get to leave class early to meet you at yours." Edd was feeling better about returning to school with each new bit of information his friends were giving him.

"So Edd." Katie leans forward to get a better view of Double D all eyes turn to meet hers. "I was wondering how the hell your sister found out in the first place." Katie not being informed yet was understandably curious.

"She saw me kissing a boy in my living room one night." The memories of Kevin coming back to the surface once again.

"Who was he?" Angelica always the YAOI girl.

"NO Angelica, he's not out yet." Double D didn't want to do the same thing to Kevin that had been done to him.

"O come on you can trust me, have I ever let any of your secrets slip before." Ok so she had been trustworthy even through his unfair treatment she never let slip what she knew and what had transpired. So just to keep her from nagging him more he whispers it in her ear, and in her nose bleed worthy excitement she blurts it out "Kevin Barr oh my god Edd." As she dies from embarrassment for letting it slip so easily she thought to herself, _"I have enough fluff pieces with that pairing in my head right now to last me a lifetime."_

"Oh my god Ange, really?" Double D says confirming it for the rest of his friends.

"You're shitting me Edd, he's like the biggest ladies man in school." Katie says in disbelief.

Edd looks down at his lap where Nat was looking back up at him also in disbelief. This was the guy Edd was "getting to know" before him. Sure he was new to the school but you quickly learn who the players are. And in Nat's opinion Kevin was a player, always hitting on girls seeing whose pants he could get into, and it pissed Nat off that Kevin was trying to get into Edd's. Because he was pretty certain it was going to be a booty call and nothing more for Kevin. Nat knew that Edd was worth so much more than that.

"Did you only kiss him? Did you do anything else?" Angelica's YAOI girl side in full force once again.

"Jesus Christ Ange." Ed chimes in a little put off on the girls insistence. "Some of us don't care to know." He didn't want Nat and Edd's budding relationship he had worked hard on to wilt.

"Well I am curious." Katie retorts.

Both girls prodding him "Come on D tell us we just want to know."

"Christ girls alright, it was just a blow job ok." Double D says under pressure. Nat was a little jealous of this fact but had to remind himself that he has done things as well so who was he to expect Edd to be a virgin. Seeing that look in Nat's eyes for that brief second Edd panics a little. "Sorry Nat I shouldn't have said anything. You didn't need to know that."

"No, no it's alright we've all had our fun." Nat didn't want Edd to feel like he had to apologize for anything in his past. The girls continue to prod Edd for info on Kevin which from that point on he staunchly refused to divulge.

Close to an hour later the ladies said it was time for them to leave, but before heading out Katie relays a little information to the guys. "You guys know Johnnie is having a party this weekend right?" Edd shock his head the others nodded. "Practically everyone is invited and I think it's probably the best thing for Edd to go out there and show them he's no different than them." Everyone looking unsure on whether that was a good idea she adds. "We will all be there so we will be able to keep him safe if anyone has a problem with him."

Edd determined to get back a piece of his dignity from the jerks at school "She's probably right, it would probably also let them know they can't scare me so easily."

"If your up for it then I'm game." Nat says putting his hand on Edd's shoulder. "But if anyone starts getting violent we're out of there." Edd nods to this.

"Cool, let's all me up here around eight on Saturday then." Katie then says her goodbye's with a little wave and heads up the stairs followed by Angelica.

"I should get going to." Nat turns to Edd taking his hand into his own. "I would ask you to stay the night with me instead of on this lumpy couch." This earned Nat a look from Ed. "But I want to remain the gentlemen, how about a movie sometime?"

"I would like that Nat." Edd was smiling from ear to ear.

In slight shock that Edd had called him Nat he didn't respond right away but found his voice quickly. "Cool just let me know when you're ready for it and we'll go see something." He leans in and kisses Double D, Ed averts his gaze for really watching to people be sappy is kind of awkward, he is still happy for his friends though. The next day Edd went back to school , all went well for the next three days up to the weekend, Ed and Nat met Double D at his class escorted him to his locker then their own, walking him to his class. On Friday both Double D and Nat loosened up a little during these walks, with no other students around they started holding hands walking down the hall together. That Friday was also good for another reason for Double D, Lee went back home to her mother's up north, and with the way she acted he was glad to see her go, and Double D was happy to back under his own roof, which didn't last long staying Friday night over at Ed's to spend more time with Nat again.

Once Saturday had arrived Double D and the boy's spent their day as per the usual, listening to music, playing video games, smoking pot at a moderate pace trying to keep Edd's consumption down and horror movies, with a lot of cuddling between Double D and Nat. Once five hit Double D and Nat left to go get changed and freshen up for the party heading to Double D's first then to Nat's, while at Nat's Double D caught the tail end of a conversation between Nat and his father, not that he meant to listen he was just walking out of the living room to see what was taking Nat so long in the restroom.

"Yeah dad that's the guy." Nat said as he was looking in the bathroom mirror fixing his hair.

"He seems nice, just remember to play safe." Pulling out his wallet Nat's father fished out a few bills. "Here's a little bit of money for the night and have fun." Nat's father turned and walked away as Edd arrived at the bathroom giving Edd a smile and a pat on the shoulder as he walked by him.

"Hey Nat it's almost time for us to be back at Ed's. You ready to go?" Edd was getting fidgety, they agreed to be back by seven it was six forty five now.

"Yeah, just one more sec." Nat put the finishing touches on his hair, leaving the bathroom he smiles at Edd takes his hand and walks toward the door, saying goodbye to his parents as they left. They walked hand in hand back to Ed's not caring about the stares they received by passer-bys, They spent the next hour watching Ed try and figure out what to wear to impress the girls that would be at the part thankfully he finally said screw it and wore what was comfortable. Once the ladies had arrived dressed casually as well Ed didn't feel so underdressed, the five of them headed to the party in Angelica's Car cramming all the boys in the back together the girls claiming the front.

"We're ladies and we deserve to be comfortable." Katie said teasingly to Ed who was complaining about the cramped conditions of the back. Once they arrived Edd was surprised that the police hadn't been called yet with the number of teenagers wreaking havoc in the house. As the five of them entered the house Edd's anxiety rose as a few of the teenagers close to the door looked in their direction as they entered then quickly turned away again to continue talking amongst themselves. In his mind he couldn't help but wonder if they were talking about him. They went into the living room making a slow round through the bottom floors, both Ed and Nat getting a beer as they went through the kitchen. Because of his anxiety over the situation Double D had decided he was going to stay sober, not even smoking any pot during the party. Everyone at the party seemed to be preoccupied with their own concerns to be bothered with the five of them. No slurs were cast, no disgusted stares were shown, no pushing shoving or punches thrown. Double D stared to relax a little as they made their way back to the living room, finding the couch surprisingly empty Double D and the girls planted themselves there chatting with each other. The other two boys stood near engaging in conversation with each other and occasionally the three on the couch for about twenty minutes when Nat offered to go get him and Ed a refill on their beers. While in the kitchen filling their cups at the keg Kevin walks up behind Nat with a empty cup waiting for him to finish refilling his.

Not noticing who it was at the keg Kevin snarls out as he was looking into the living room at Double D. "I can't believe that queer is here."

Looking up ready to cuss someone out, Nat notices it was Kevin and decides to prod him a little. "And why is that Kevin? So I guess you think he should just hide himself from the world because he accepts who he is?"

Kevin looking a little confused at Nat's blunt question. "So what, you like his boyfriend or something?" Kevin was expecting to get the typical response of a rebuttal to such a accusation.

"Yes I am." Nat responded and Kevin's face went white. "He's a very special person you know and I feel sorry for the dumb son of a bitch that dumped him all because he was to chicken shit to admit who he was." The blood continued to run out of Kevin's face, Nat just smirked at the reaction he was getting. "But I also should thank them, because now I get to come in and show Edd what a real loving relationship is like." Not having anything more he wanted to say and keep the conversation civil Nat walks away to the living room leaving behind a dumbfounded Kevin.

Returning to the others he hands Ed his cup and takes a drink of his own. "What took you?" Ed asks as he takes the cup from Nat.

"Had to deal with a dip shit." Nat responds plainly.

"Everything cool?" Ed asks a little concerned. Nat only nods in response.

With no real problems arising Ed suggest that he and Nat go out back and smoke a joint, reassuring him that if anything did arise that the girls would come get them quickly seeing how they would only be a little bit a ways. Agreeing that things haven't been as hateful as he had feared plus the reassurance that they would be close by Nat followed Ed out the back. Once the boys were out of sight for a minute Katie decided to act. Ever since those words came out of Angelica's mouth letting everyone know about Kevin, a little pit of anger and hate had been forming in her stomach. All she could think was, " _How dare Edd tell lies about Kevin."_ In her eyes Kevin was a heterosexual, picture of masculinity, the all American male, he couldn't be into guys not after everything they had done together. She was so infatuated with Kevin that she would do anything he asked her, even if it hurt her in the process.

"So Edd why do you tell me again how Kevin let you go down on him." Katie said rather loudly drawing the attention of several of the teens around them.

Shocked that she would betray his trust in such a way Edd whispers "Kat what are you doing? This isn't the appropriate place to talk about this kind of thing." Unknown to Edd at the time because his attention was on Katie, Rolf over heard what was said and made his way to the kitchen to find a rather drunk Kevin.

Coming up to Kevin and saying in a hushed voice. "Kevin, that queer is telling everyone that he's sucked you off." Kevin's face contorts with malice, rage erupts in his stomach. Rage at the world for not being able to be true to himself. Rage that Edd got over him so quickly and was now with someone else. Rage that Edd was now telling people his secret. Kevin quickly heads to the living room to find Katie arguing with Edd and Angelica. Edd stands up and starts heading toward the front door trying to leave the house before anything could go wrong with this very loud declaration. Before he could make it out of the living room Kevin has him and slams him against the wall. Angelica who had still been arguing with Katie over what she had done turns at the noise and puts her hands to her mouth at the sight of it. Katie smiles a little she knew she was right, Kevin's not gay if he is reacting this way to it. A crowd starts gathering in the living room from the sudden noise eagerly awaiting the onslaught.

"What the fuck did you say about me you fucking queer?" Kevin's eyes were a blaze of pure rage.

"N-nothing Kevin I-I haven't said anything." Edd stutters out. Angelica starts working her way through the crowd to the back of the house.

Katie comes up to Kevin. "O he told me everything Kevin, so is it true do you suck cock Kev?" Kevin snaps at what Katie says grabs Edd by the neck harshly dragging him to the door, wanting more room he opens the door and throws Edd out it causing him to tumble down the porch's concrete stairs. Kevin marches down the stairs as Edd was trying to regain his footing and kicks him in the stomach.

"You fucking cock sucking liar." Another kick to the stomach, the crowd makes their way out the door encircling the boys. "You fucking queer how dare you lie about me." Grabs Edd by the hair bringing him up into a kneeling position brining his fist back punches him in the jaw sending Edd toppling to the ground once again.

Angelica makes it to the back finding Ed and Nat on the other side of a tool shed from the house. "You two need to get out front now, Kevin's kicking D's ass." All three start running toward the front she explains on the way about Katie's betrayal.

As they round the corner of the house the see Edd on the ground trying to get up so he could try and get away, while Kevin brings back his foot kicking Edd in the temple sending the boy flat on his back from which he did not move. As they ran toward the two figures a third comes from the sidelines tackling Kevin and begins to wail on him, Eddy wasn't as big of a jerk as they had thought. Sure he had his issues but coming out of the house to see his friend get kicked in the face was enough to put those to the side. As he had Kevin on the ground punching him repeatedly Eddy was a blubbering mess screaming at Kevin about how Double D didn't deserve that and how he was going to make him pay for it. As the other three approached Double D, Kevin had turned the tables on Eddy just as he was about to deck Eddy the cops arrived at the house. Kevin made a mad dash for it as did most of the Kids, only five figures didn't move and one of them lay on the ground.


	16. The Fixed Stars

Chapter 16- 10th grade The Fixed Stars

 **A/N- Woo Cliff hanger last time lol, and no I didn't plan NatxEdd when I started it just happened. Sometimes I feel this thing is a big ass dog dragging me down the street more than I am leading it. Warnings-Drug use, homophobia, Feels and Truths when you live in a small town sometimes these things happen.**

The funeral procession headed to the small hill where Edd's parents had bought his grave. His family was in the limo in the front of the row of cars heading toward his final resting place. His mother, father and three step sisters dressed in their black mourning dress, his mother was barely able to hold it together during the church service, where the priest having caught wind of Double D's preferences decided to add a little bit on It "The sin's one commits in life will be forgiven by god, if one is truly repents and seeks to change." Causing Double D's mother to break down even further. If Nat and Ed weren't trying to be civil for the family's sake they would have taken that man out back and taught him a thing or two about forgiveness. Now they were on the final leg of Double D's last journey in this world.

As they stood around the grave with the coffin suspended above it Nat took in all those who came to pay their final respects. Several nameless faces he recognized from school but never socialized with and was sure Double D didn't either, probably just here to get a free day out of school. Along with himself and Ed, Angelica was clutching his arm stifling her sobs into his shoulder. Further down from them was Nazz and her arm candy of a boyfriend putting on quiet the show of water works, after all royalty is expected to attend these things. On the other side of the grave from him stood the family, Mother barely holding on, father supporting her the best he could, Marie and May looking indifferent but trying to look sad and Lee a little too smug as though she expected this to happen all along. Beside Lee was Katie who looked shocked as though she truly didn't understand how this could happen, how could she be partly responsible for this. Beside her where the two bullies that beat Edd in the bathroom on Nazz's request. Nat's blood started to boil, how dare they show their faces here like they cared for the boy. Beside those two was Kevin. What the hell is Kevin doing here, he wasn't there during the church service at least Nat doesn't remember seeing him. Nat snaps and charges the boy punching him square in the jaw, Kevin barely flinches at it.

"Is that the best you can do pansy." Nat tries again with even less of a reaction, what the hell is up with this I am hitting him with all I got and he isn't moving an inch. "How do you ever expect to protect anyone when you couldn't protect him." Kevin back hands Nat sending him flying landing on the coffin. Upon impact the coffin along with Nat falls into the grave with Kevin calmly saying "Better luck next time queer." Falling to the bottom the coffin breaks open on impact and Nat is lying upon Double D's lifeless corps. He shot's up off the couch he had been sleeping on drenched in sweat to the sound of a heart monitor and both Ed and Double D watching TV as the sun started to rise peaking through the window. He had fallen asleep while waiting on Double D to be wheeled out for a CAT scan to make sure there was no bleeding on his brain.

"Good morning sunshine, did you have pleasant dreams." Ed said in his smartass tone.

"I'm fine. How did the tests go?" Nat said yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Looking around he didn't see Edd's mother. "Where's momma bear at?"

"She went to get us something to eat, seeing how we came in after supper was served and breakfast isn't for an hour and D here is famished." Ed said flipping through the channels of morning Television.

"Everything seems to be in order, they said no bleeding just a severe concussion." Edd squinted his eyes a little trying to think. "I'm still having problems remembering what happened, the doctor said it should pass. But they are releasing me, we are just waiting on the paper work to get done."

"How about the cops, have they come yet?" Nat trying to get up to speed on what he had missed wanted to know what was taking so long on that end.

"They did but because of my temporary amnesia they couldn't get all the information, so they will be coming back later to see if I can remember more." Double D seemed annoyed at having difficulty remembering it all.

"But they are going after him aren't they?" Nat replied flustered knowing that delays gives Kevin time to build up his excuses and get people on his side as witnesses.

"Unfortunately no, not until they get my statement and even then it's pretty much a he said she said situation at best." Edd thinking logically sure there were a lot of people there, but could he recite all their names and even then who would tell the truth and who would side with Kevin just because he was popular. Not to mention Kevin was perceived as the straight boy that had been wronged by Edd's "lies".

Momma bear and Eddy walk back into the room carrying a few bags of food from McDonalds. "I stopped by the nurses' station on the way back in, they said your paper work is almost done so it should be just a few more minutes." Leslie said as she sat the bag on the bed and started passing out the food. A few minutes yeah right it took them another thirty minutes before they had finally come in with the release paperwork for Double D's mother to sign spouting off a shift change as the excuse for the delay, it was nine o'clock when they finally got out the door and headed home.

Being Sunday now the boy's spent their day at Double D's waiting for him to remember the events of last night. Edd and Eddy spent the time rebuilding bridges both boys had assumed burned, only now just figuring out that they only needed some patch work done to them. While the boys were playing a few rounds of Street Fighter Edd's mother comes in to check on them. "Is everything alright boys." All the boys said their yes ma'am "Hey Ed can I speak to you for a moment." They stepped out of the room and had their conversation. Double D was a little curious on what it could be about, when Ed came back into the room a few minutes later Double D gave him a look cocking his brow as to say what's up.

"Your mom just had a few questions about your safety at school." Ed pulls out a little plastic bag containing his pot. "And to let me know if we wanted to we could smoke up tonight, to help you relax of course."

As Ed broke up the bud on a magazine Double D asks. "So do we think Kevin is going to try again?"

"He can try but we'll be ready for him." Eddy said smugly.

Nat added giving Double D's arm a gentle rub. "Remember we get to walk you to class so it's not like he will have much of a chance to get at you."

"And I'll be giving you a ride home from school so you don't have to worry about taking the bus and walking home." Eddy's smug smile growing from the fact that he was playing the hero yet again. Picturing himself as the knight in shining armor riding on top the steed that is his car.

"So we pretty much got you covered ok." Ed says as he puts the final touches on the blunt he had been rolling. "But you don't have to worry about that for a few weeks." Winter break having started that weekend, the boys were happy they didn't have to worry too much about it in the immediate future, it just never hurts to be prepared. Ed lights the blunt, takes a hit and passes it to Eddy. "So there's plenty of time for you to just relax and not worry about it, once you make your statement let the cops do their thing." The boys continue passing the blunt around a third of the way through momma bear comes into the room with a tray of drinks and sandwiches for the boys. Putting them down on the desk she turns and snatches the joint from Nat and takes a deep hit, holds it and gives it to her son. Double D was in shock along with Eddy's jaw hitting the floor. Only Ed spoke up. "Momma K I didn't know you partook of the herb."

"Boys, I was a teenager once." She said smiling at the look on her son's face rubbing his head affectionately. "There's a lot you don't know about me, but no I don't do it anymore. I just wanted to relive my youth a little." She headed toward the door. "If you ever want a recipe for some brownies let me know Ed I think I still have it lying around here somewhere." The boys finished off the blunt then the plate of snakes she had brought continuing to relax in the hopes that the atmosphere would help Double D remember something. It wasn't until six o'clock that evening that Edd remembered everything that had transpired. All the boys headed down stairs to inform his parents, also to say goodbye to his mother, being the time that they should all be headed to their own homes. "Well that's wonderful news Eddward but I think we will call them tomorrow, let the place air out before they get here you know."

"I understand mother." They didn't want to bring any undo suspicion upon his family, with his parents line of work any police action taken against them could cost them their jobs along with their nursing licenses.

His three friends said their goodbyes and headed toward the door. "Nat could you wait just a minute, I want to ask Edd something and then speak to you." Leslie smiled to him warmly as she spoke.

"Sure." Nat said then waved to the other boys.

Edd and his mother went into the kitchen. "So is Nat someone special to you?" Edd was blushing at the rather straight forward question from his mother. "You know I can tell by the way he's always by your side lately. I just want to know a little about my sons love life is that such a bad thing?"

"No mother it is not a bad thing." Edd looks down a little as his blush deepens "And yes we are dating."

"That's good, he seems like a really nice boy. I'm happy for you. I know so little about him but is he trustworthy? He's not just after sex is he?" His mothers face never changing from a happy smile as she pondered this. She trusted her son's judgment on these things but still had to make sure.

"Mother really, how embarrassing." Edd didn't think his face could get anymore red but had just been proven wrong.

"Well I have to make sure darling." Her face going into a mock pout from being chastised by her son.

"No mother he is not after sex. He seems to really want to be with me." Edd all but whispered.

Satisfied with what her son told her she walked into the other room. "Nat would you like to have dinner with us and perhaps stay the night over."

Nat perked up at the question. "I would love to." Dinner was simple, brown beans fried potatoes and polish sausages. The usual parental questions were asked of Nat throughout dinner trying to find out more about the boy trying to win their sons affection. After dinner they watched Cabaret with Liza Minnelli.

After the movie it was time for the boys to go to bed. "Now Nat I am putting a lot of trust in you right now, please don't disappoint me, I expect you to remain a gentleman." Edd's mother said as they headed to Edd's room.

"Mother." Edd said embarrassed.

"I will be Mrs. K." Nat replied. The boys got ready for bed, Edd giving Nat a spare toothbrush from the cabinet and loaning him a pair of pajama bottoms for the evening. The boys shared Edd's full sized bed cuddling in each other's arms. Gently kissing one another not wanting to bring to much passion out of each other, out of fear of causing too much noise and alerting Edd's parents that they were doing more then just sleeping. Though his parents were pretty sure the teens would be anyways, they just wanted them to be safe and take their time to get to know each other first.

Breaking their kiss Nat asks. "So have you decided where you want to go for our first date?"

"Well there's that Chinese restaurant down town and that new movie that started last Friday, if you would like to go see it." Edd planted a kiss on Nat's lips.

"That sounds like a plan. So does Tuesday work for you?" Nat returned the kiss given to him. Edd nodded and then bringing forth a deeper kiss. The two boys continued this for a little while until falling asleep in each other's arms.


	17. Jupiter

Chapter 17- 10th grade Jupiter

 **A/N don't think there is going to be many warnings on this one will add later if not oops. Nathan belongs to c2ndy2c1d**

The following morning Edd was awoken by Nat nuzzling his chin against Edd's neck, the usual male morning issue rubbing against his backside with the occasional twitch from it if either one moved causing it to rub against Edd. Not that Edd was going to complain about it, he was enjoying the attention, and would tease just a little by moving purposely to get a reaction. "You know if you keep that up I might break the promise I gave your mother." Nat said wickedly kissing the nap of Edd's neck.

"I'm not doing anything and you can't prove that I am." Edd replied playfully turning over to face Nat, wrapping his arms around the teal haired boy planting a gentle kiss upon his lips. The sun was just coming over the horizon brightening the room in a soft glow that made Nat's hair shine a little from Edd's point of view.

"Well, tell that to my happy little friend down there." Nat said as his member twitched yet again from the friction Edd had caused as he turned.

"I would but I am not allowed to see him right now, Mother's orders." Edd laughed a little at the end of his words. Nat sighed hugging the boy tighter to his body mentally smacking himself for walking into that one.

Placing another gentle kiss upon Edd's lips, that brought forth passion from Edd that quickened both their pulses. Breaking the kiss Nat breathes heavily as he strokes Edd's raven hair looking into his eyes. "You should probably go take a shower now." Nat said slowing his breathing never breaking his gaze, he so wanted to ravish the boy in his arms but held himself back out of respect for Edd and his mother. A task that was proving more difficult with each passing moment the two of them spent together. He cared for the boy very deeply and he wanted it to go even further, his biggest fear was scaring or hurting Edd. Edd agreed that it was probably time to get his day started, the boys untangled themselves and got out of the bed Nat getting dressed and Edd collecting his things to head to the shower. "I should go to my place and get a shower and a change of clothes." Nat said once fully dressed, he walks over and gives Edd a quick kiss and continues. "If it's alright with you I can come back in about an hour." Not wanting to smother Edd but also wanting to spend as much time with this beautiful boy.

"I would like that, I would really enjoy the company." Edd smiled shyly as he lead the way down the stairs to let Nat out.

"Cool I'll see you later then." Nat gives him a quick kiss goodbye and heads out the door quickly walking home. Edd closes the door behind him and runs up the stairs to quickly take a shower and get dressed. Once showered and dressed he heads downstairs to the kitchen to have breakfast finding a sticky note letting him know he is loved and that they would arrange for the cops to come over to interview him once they got off work and to make sure he was home for it. The hour he waited for Nat to come back felt like an eternity, flipping through boring morning television hoping for something good but coming up empty handed. Finally a knock at the door, Edd almost trips over himself trying to reach the door, checking the peephole to confirm it was Nat and not someone else undesired on the other side. Edd opens the door and lets him in, Nat was carrying a few movies and a few video games with him that he was sure his boyfriend didn't have.

Handing the selection to Edd for his approval, Edd quickly perused the selection coming upon a rather odd looking one he holds it up. On the cover was a man dressed in heels fishnet stockings and corset perched upon a set of red lips. "What's this one?" Edd says curiously.

"You're going to love that one." Nat takes it from Edd's hand and puts it in. After hitting play the screen comes to life with a set of full red lips singing the opening number. Edd was excited it was a musical he hadn't seen before, Nat taught him the time warp and several of the things the audience says along with the movie. Both boys laughed at some of these, Edd finding it quiet entertaining made a mental note to add this to his selection. The rest of the day waiting for Edd's parents to return home was spent talking and listening to music both learning more about the other with each conversation or interest shared. Edd had learned that Nat had come out a couple of years ago to his parents then eventually to his friends. He lost a couple of his friends but that's what happens, some people just can't handle their perception of you being altered. He also learned that Nat had a boyfriend where he use to live but it didn't work out, Nat wanted more but his boyfriend was like Kevin just interested in the sex aspect of the relationship and wanted to keep them a secret. These conversations where had on the couch cuddling together as a movie was ignored on the TV. Eventually conversation died away replaced by gentle kisses and exploring hands. Both boys' lips in time with each other as their heads tilled to get a better angle as they opened their mouths to allow their tongues entrance to dance playfully with one another. Edd's hand slide up Nat's shirt, feeling the boy's slender body as he worked his way up to his chest, rubbing his thumb against Nat's nipple. As their kiss grew more feverish, Nat grabs Edd's leg and pulls it to drape over his own in essence turning the boys hips to face his own. He then begins to slowly move his hand up Edd's thigh making his way to hip.

Caressing the flesh under the hem of Edd's pants, Nat breaks the kiss looking into Edd's eyes silently asking permission if he may proceed, Edd nodes and rejoins their lips grinding his hips against Nat's rubbing their members together through their clothes. Nat's hand slides down into Edd's pants and squeezes his ass, Nat was in heaven kissing this beautiful boy with Edd's perfect ass in his hand. Edd was losing himself in these sensations his hormones screaming to get on with it and stop teasing but his rational side was begging him not to go to fast and make the mistake he did with Kevin. Logic _"You've only been dating for three days, foreplay is fine but you need to draw a line, don't rush and ruin this. If his word is true he might be what you've been looking for."_ Lust filled emotion. " _Oh My God, it feels so amazing though, I want him so bad. He tastes so good and smells so wonderful. If I don't have him right now I might die from the want of him."_ Logic _"But if you take him now you might get hurt again, build a foundation first before you build the roof."_ Emotion " _I guess you're right, but he is just so beautiful."_ Logic " _Imagine how much better it will be when the time is right."_ Logic wins again and Edd breaks the kiss. "Maybe we should tone it down just a little Nat." Nat looked a little confused wondering if he had done something wrong, Edd sensing this continues. "It's just if we don't I might not be able to control myself for much longer, and I so want to continue, I'm just scared I might ruin the possibility of us."

Nat understanding Edd's fears having gone through it himself and what Kevin has done to the boy, he removes his hand from Edd's pants. "It's alright I understand." He takes in a breath through his nose along with Edd's scent. "Damn you're a good kisser, I got a little carried away." He smiles and plants a gentle kiss on Edd's forehead. The boys to avoid any further temptation sit up properly on the couch and direct their attention to the movie that was already half way over. Edd nuzzled into Nat's shoulder, Nat's right arm wrapped around the boy he deeply cares for. Nat thinking to himself how much he was going to enjoy getting to know this boy, pondering on his feelings hoping that the seeds of love have been planted in Edd's heart for he could already feel them growing in his own.

A few hours pass and a knock is heard at the door. Edd walks to the door checking the peephole he sees two cops standing at the door. Opening it he greets the officers, "Are you Eddward Vincent?" One of the officers says.

"Yes I am." Edd replies

"Are your parent's home son?" The other officer asks

"Not yet sir, but they should be home momentarily." Edd steps aside allowing entrance for the officers and motions with his left hand. "If you would like to come in and wait for them." Nat sits on the couch looking at the two of them, the officers in kind return the stare. Edd offers them something to drink both declining. Ten minutes later Edd's mother walks through the door noticing the cops in her living room she greets them and quickly puts her things away and takes a seat.

"As you are aware ma'am we have come to get your sons statement on the event of the other night between himself and Mr. Barr." One of the officers says as he pulls out his note pad and pen. Edd's mother nods in response. Edd recounts the events of the evening of his attack to the officers. When he got to the part about the obscenities Kevin was yelling at him the mood of the officers change and the note pad and pen were put back up.

"So you say Mr. Barr attacked you without provocation?" Edd nodded to the officer's question. "Well unfortunately Mr. Barr has several witnesses that state you seemed to be on something and were hitting on Mr. Barr and that Mr. Barr had attempted to turn you down several times to no luck and that you attempted to fondle him which sent Mr. Barr into the rage that ended in the altercation."

"So you're not going to do anything then." Nat was steaming mad but containing it not wanting to start any trouble for Edd.

"No we're not." The one officer says sternly "We already have your statement Mr. Goldberg and you were not there at the beginning of the altercation so you can not testify to what happened. The only witness Mr. Vincent has is Ms. Peters. As we see it Mr. Vincent is lucky Mr. Barr doesn't press charges for sexual assault." Edd was floored, this couldn't be happening. He was the one attacked. "Unless some new piece of evidence comes to the surface we are just going to consider this a domestic disturbance and be on our way." Not having such evidence Edd's mother thanks the gentleman for their time and escorts them to the door, locking it behind them.

Edd's eyes fill with tears of shame, for that is what everyone is going to think happened, that he was the perverted fag and Kevin the assaulted straight boy. Turning to his mother when she reentered the room "I swear mother that isn't how it happened." Edd could feel the tears threatening to fall. "Kevin is just saying that to cover his tracks."

Edd's mother takes her son in a warm hug. "I know sweetie, I know. He'll get what's coming to him eventually." Rubbing her son's back comfortingly. Edd turns to look at Nat hoping he didn't believe what Kevin was saying.

Nat put up a strong front for Edd, knowing full well it was all bull shit but had no clue what to say to make it better for his boyfriend. "Your mother's right. It will be alright we will figure something out." Edd could only wish there was something out there to prove his innocence and Kevin's guilt, if not to put Kevin away for what he had done but to at least restore his dignity.


	18. Venus

Chapter 18- 10th grade Venus

 **A/N- So sorry it took so long to write this, fluff is hard for me sometimes. A brief explain of the chapter titles. The titles are reference to Dante's Paradiso, continuing to try and theme the chapters. The fixed stars-faith hope love, Jupiter-the just rulers and Venus-the lovers. I know I said I wouldn't do too much fluff but DD deserves it. Nathan belongs to c2ndy2c1d**

Tuesday finally arrived and Edd was excited and nervous, his first really date with someone he wanted to go on one with. He was trying desperately to forget the low of yesterday's interview with the cops. Not wanting it to spoil his evening with Nat. Rummaging through his closet looking for something suitable for tonight coming up short on all accounts. Going to the phone he calls his mother's work getting the operator. "Peach creek state hospital how may I direct your call?"

"North two please." Edd replies hearing the tone through the phone signaling the call was being transferred. A male picks up and states he had reached north two. "Is Leslie Kanker there?" The man puts down the phone and he can hear him call for his mother.

"This is Mrs. Kanker." His mother says in a semi annoyed voice.

"Mom, I don't have anything to wear tonight. Help!" Edd says in a panic.

"Calm down sweetie, take a breathe. Do you have a way up here?" Leslie says calmly but still with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Edd confirmed he did thinking of Eddy. "Be here at noon and I'll give you my card and you go get something ok, now I got to get back to passing out meds ok, I love you" And she abruptly hangs up the phone

Edd spends the next hour and a half to 10:30 trying to occupy his time, TV, video games a little light reading nothing helped. Around ten there was a knock at the door Edd checks the peephole and sees a delivery man carrying roses. Edd quickly opens the door and accepts the roses that were addressed to him. Closing the door he smells them and finds a note attached. Opening the note he reads it.

"To my love  
Your blue eyes remind me of the ocean  
Bringing forth my great devotion  
Your kisses are as sweet as honey  
Making my days nice and sunny  
Your hands touch gives me the chills  
That I dare not seek a different thrill  
Then to stare into your ocean blues  
That I never really want to lose  
The sweet taste of your lips to mine  
Causing my heart to soar and shine  
Or the feel of your tender embrace  
Making me willing to chase  
You to the ends of the earth  
To show you my hearts worth  
From the one who loves you"

Edd's heart soared with the poem, Nat was out doing himself on this. He put the flowers into water and placed them into his room. He admired them for a few minutes, then noticing the time was already past 10:30 he rushed out the door making his way to Ed's first to get him up and then to Eddy's wanting both his friends help deciding what to get to wear tonight. After getting both his friends awake and dressed it was 11:45. They sped their way to Edd's mother's work getting there at 12:05. "You're late Eddward, that's so not like you."

"Sorry mother it took me longer to get Eddy up than expected." Edd said apologetically.

She hands him the card. "Be reasonable on your spending, and feel free to get you and your friends something to eat as well." Edd takes the card kisses his mother on the cheek and thanks her. Getting back in the car the boys made their way back to the shopping district of town. They stopped at Wendy's, Edd getting a salad and the other burgers and fries. They parked in the parking lot of J.C. Pennies and ate their meals before shopping. Once inside Edd tried on a few different outfits, Ed and Eddy not being as much help as he thought, he decides to just go simple with a black button up shirt and dark blue jeans and a new pair of shoes.

By the time they got home it was two. The boys spent a couple of hours keeping Edd's mind off the coming date or he would just be fidgeting and pacing worrying about what could go wrong. Around four Edd's nerves could no longer be contained as he ran around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get ready. "Just calm down dude you'll be fine" Ed said grabbing him by the shoulders making him stop his frantic pace.

"I put a few condoms in your wallet Casanova, just in case" Eddy wags his brows.

"Don't forget to cup the balls man." Ed adds with a devilish smirk. Double D was so flustered at the moment he didn't know how to respond.

"Or that nice twist at the end." Eddy says as he does a little twisting motion with his head.

"That is enough with your lewd comments gentlemen." Double D goes to the bathroom to finish getting ready with a little privacy.

As Double D was in the bathroom putting on the final touches, he could hear a faint knock at the door then Ed and Eddy running down the stairs to open it. Spritzing some cologne in the air then walking through it Double D was done with his preparations and headed out of the bathroom door. Heading downstairs he caught sight of Nat, Ed and Eddy in the living room. Nat was wearing black dress pants white dress shirt unbuttoned at the top with a black vest and a black fedora holding a single rose. Double D was starting to feel under dressed for the evening and almost ran back up the stairs, until Nat caught his eye. "You look so handsome." Nat said taking in a breath and smiling gently, a smile and blush instantly dancing across Double D's face.

He continues walking down the stairs slowly, regaining his confidence with each step. Standing in front of Nat looking deeply in his eyes Edd practically whispers "Y-you look dashing Nathan."

As Nat hands him the rose they here the click of a shutter and see the flash of light the boys look over to see Edd's mother holding a camera and a big smile on her face. "You two looked so handsome I couldn't help myself." Ah a mother's need to preserve every event of her child's life.

"Mother!" Edd's shy nature started taking hold. She continues none the less getting a few shots of the boys, even directing the friends to join in a few of them as well. The first picture with the rose now sits on Edd's dresser.

After she was sated on her photography moment Edd's mother pulls out her wallet from her purse and pulls some money out of it, handing it to Edd. "Here sweetie, just in case you need it."

"That's not necessary Mrs. K." Nat says waving his hand in protest.

"Oh you never know dear, take it." Leslie would not be denied shoving into Edd's hand.

Edd pulled out his wallet to put the money away and two condoms fall out. "Eddy! I thought you were joking." Eddy just gives him a wicked smile and runs for the door to avoid the two condoms being thrown at him. Nat just laughs it off then extends his arm to Edd, to lead him out the door and to his father's car. Opening the passenger side door for Edd he helps him into the car, then closes the door and makes his way to the driver's side, climbing in he starts the car leans over and kisses Edd sweetly. They headed uptown. They decided to go to the new sushi restaurant instead of going for Chinese, sharing two dishes, one being futomaki and the other tempura. Edd had an amusing time trying to teach Nat how to use the chopsticks, he kept using too much pressure causing the sticks to go askew and drop the food. On one failed attempt by Nat, Edd picks up the piece of sushi from where it fell on the plate and feeds it to Nat. Receiving a delightful smile from him and a long suck on his chopsticks from the boy.

Edd blushed at the intimacy of the act, "but hey, he's had his tongue in my mouth so why be so shy about this" he thought. After stuffing themselves with sushi they headed to the theater watching a new vampire flick, leaving Edd squirming in his seat as Nat mimicked the vampire on the screen as he drank his victims blood, Edd had to stifle the noise he was making because of this not really wanting to draw attention to them. Edd enjoyed being there in the dark with Nat, it meant that he got to hold his hand in public without the fear of people noticing and being hateful about it. After the movies the boys headed to the creek and parked looking up at the night sky through the moon roof in the car. Holding hands and enjoying the view of the night sky.

"I've always loved star gazing out here, it's so clear and peaceful." Edd said leaning his head on Nar's shoulder. Nat nuzzled his check against Edd's head and sighed with contentment. "It's so pretty, the way the trees sway with the wind, the stars making a tapestry against the black of the sky and Luna is so peaceful sitting up there."

"Luna?" Nat asks cocking a brow.

"Oh that's Latin for moon, most people don't know that. That's why they sometimes say lunar surface when they are talking about the surface of the moon." Edd's educational side was coming out. "You might also find it interesting that it is also where they derive the word lunatic from, seeing how they attributed madness to the moon."

"That's interesting." Nat was trying to be interested in what Edd was saying, astronomy wasn't his thing. "How about the sun what's the Latin word for it?"

"Sol is the name for the sun." Edd said quickly "Hence the word solar."Edd started pointing out the different constellations you could see in the sky this time of year. Pointing out Orion, Canis major and minor, Leo and a few others before looking up at Nat to see the boy looking at him lovingly. Nat leans in and locks his lips to Edd's savoring the taste of the boy's mouth caressing his cheek with his left hand as he opened his mouth, Edd following suite quickly bringing their tongues together. Edd moans softly separating their mouths momentarily to take a quick gasp of air into his lungs before rejoining again and deepening the kiss. Wrapping his arms around Nat's neck to steady himself, Edd's mind is flooded with want and need his emotional side kicking logic's ass for once, he slides his head to the right and sucks on Nat's Neck bringing forth a guttural moan from the teal haired boy. Nat's hand slides up the back of Edd's shirt caressing his spin with the tips of his fingers, Edd takes his left hand bringing it down from Nat's neck and starts undoing the boy's shirt.

Having gotten the shirt halfway undone Edd pulls the shirt open to the right exposing Nat's chest, he slowly makes his way down the collar bone licking and sucking his way to Nat's chest. "D are you sure about this?" Nat breathes out as Edd began licking on his nipple. Edd hums his approval as he nibbles it gently between his teeth. As he was doing such he reaches down and slowly unzips Nat's pants reaching in to grab a hold of the boys throbbing cock as Nat slides his hand down Edd's pants grabbing and squeezing his ass. "The backseat, nnngh, will probably be more comfortable Edd." Nat fumbled his words as Edd was using his thumb to slick the pre-cum over the head of his cock.

Totally lost in his desire for the boy Edd only caught backseat, he stops sucking and looks up at Nat panting as his heart was racing a mile a minute and could only nod with a "Ok" barely audible. Pulling both their hands out of each others pants they get out of the car and into the backseat. Once situated the boys join their lips feverishly Nat unbuttoning Edd's shirt revealing the soft pale skin underneath, running his hand over Edd's chest flicking this thumb across his nipple making it perk up then slowly sliding that hand down the boys stomach to the button of his jeans undoing both the button and zipper quickly he brings out Edd's erection and strokes it slowly. Unlocking his mouth from Edd's, Nat starts at the left nipple licking, sucking and nibbling it for a minute then works his way down with his tongue to Edd's cock. Licking on the head enjoying the nectar of pre-cum that had formed at the slit, Edd moaning at the contact grabbing a handful of teal hair pushing down gently on the back of his head directing him to take his cock. Nat happily obliged taking it all the way down in a single stroke, keeping it there using the muscles of his throat to massage the head of Edd's dick. Edd could only sit back and moan, his eyes rolling in the back of his head with the sensation Nat was bringing forth, finally needing air Nat slides up bobbing his head in a circular motion so that the head of Edd's cock was the only thing in his mouth being swirled around his tongue by the motion of his head. "Nat I'm going to cuuuumm if you don't stop."

Nat smiling to himself relinquishes his hold on the boy. "Go ahead, I'm going to make you cum again anyways." And takes Edd all the way down again, adding a slight bob of his head along with the squeezing muscles of his throat Nat quickly pushes Edd over the edge relishing every drop the boy had to give him as Edd shock while his seed exploded down Nat's throat. Coming off Edd's still erect dick Nat looks up at the boy smiling, happy with himself that he could bring such pleasure to this beautiful creature before him. He comes up and kisses Edd passionately upon the lips giving a slight tug at the boy's pants signaling the desire for Edd to remove them. Edd lifts his hips and with Nat's help brings his pants off. Nat also removes his, bringing out a condom from one of the pockets and sheaths his cock in it and then brings Edd to straddle him, bringing forth a good amount of saliva into his hand he coats his cock with it and then does the same to Edd's entrance. Positioning Edd above his cock and helping him to get the right angle, Edd lowers himself down on Nat's dick taking his time allowing his muscles to relax and take the boy inside of himself. Nat uses his forefinger under Edd's chin to raise the boys head to face him and locks their lips together pouring his affection for the boy into that kiss, letting him know that this act was coming from his heart and not just his loins. After going all the way down Edd keeps it there while kissing Nat passionately allowing himself to get use to the size of Nat's cock feeling it twitch inside of him as his muscles contracted around it involuntarily as he moved. He began to rock his hips back and forth bringing a slow movement, Nat pants through the kiss as the friction brings pleasure racing through his body. As he gets comfortable with the movement Edd quickens his pace desiring more as Nat's cock rubes against his prostate causing more pre-cum to leak from his hard cock. Nat grabs hold of Edd's dick stroking it slicking the pre-cum over the head using it as lubricant making Edd's mind glaze over with pleasure. His hips rock quicker, both boys breathing heavily fogging up the windows of the car, their moans echoing throughout the vehicle. As Nat reaches his climax he pants between their kisses. "I love you D." And he lets out a deep moan as his seed is spilled. As Nat's cock thrust and twitched inside of him Edd looses it again erupting all over Nat's chest moaning and a gentle laugh escaping him from the pleasure he was in.

Both boys panting heavily Edd collapses into Nat's arms, receiving a kiss on the cheek as they both slowed down their breathing. As they slowly came off their high Edd's mind raced with "Oh what a mess how are we going to clean him up." Nat answers that question by using his boxer briefs as a rage and going commando the rest of the night, when in need improvise. The boys slowly getting dressed again, Nat planting soft kisses on Edd's neck and cheek every now and again, reassuring the boy of his intention for him, knowing the boy probably was fearing a repeat of what Kevin had done. Looking at the clock on the dash Nat noticed that it was almost midnight, letting Edd know the boys switched back to the front seat and headed home. Parking in front of Edd's house he walked him to the door. "Thank you for tonight Nathan, I had a wonderful time." Edd didn't want the night to end, he wanted to lay in bed with Nat and cuddle all night long, to wake up next to the boy and see him smiling at him in the morning light.

"I did as well D." Cupping Edd's cheek with his right hand Nat comes in for a Kiss.

"I forgot to thank you for the poem earlier, it was beautiful." Edd smiles biting his bottom lip.

"Poem?" Nat was confused.

 **Cliff hanger :)** **I know I'm evil, turned into more smut then fluff but who's keeping score or is it fluffy smut idk**


	19. Mars

Chapter 19- 10th grade Mars

 **A/N Mars is the Warriors of the Faith in Dante's** **Paradiso. Sorry (not sorry) for the cliff hanger my horns were showing there Warnings- Language, Violence and homophobia**

"The roses, you sent me a bouquet of roses this morning didn't you with a poem on a card?" Edd's face was going from happiness to a little concern the smile fading from his face as Nat's didn't show any indication of understanding.

"No, I only bought you the single rose, I was nervous and didn't want to overdo it." Realization hit Nat like a ton of bricks. Someone had sent his boyfriend roses today of all days, and only one person came to mind that might have done it. "How many and what color of roses?"

"Thirteen and red, I thought the number was kind of odd, most people just do a dozen." Edd said a little curious as to why the number had significance. What Nat said earlier was only a half truth he didn't want to overdo it but he didn't want to under do it either, so he asked question while at the florist. A single red rose means utmost devotion and love, were thirteen means a secret admirer and red is for love. Nat was steaming mad if it was the person he thought it was, it gave him another reason to confront them when school started up again. Though he was doing his best to conceal his anger Edd still noticed that he wasn't pleased. "I am not going to keep them Nat if you didn't send them. I just don't understand who would have done this."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to spoil the evening. Don't worry about it ok, I'm not upset with you, you didn't know." Nat was a little confused about this whole thing, why would Kevin send them seeing how three days prior he had just beat up the boy. Was this just some sick twisted game to him? Was he trying to destroy their relationship out of jealousy or hatred? There was only one way to find out in Nat's opinion. "I should really say good night before I get you in too much trouble." Nat said as he saw the curtain in the living room move a little, he leans in and gives Edd one final kiss on the cheek, but Edd turns his head just in time to capture his lips. A few moments of rekindling the fire and Nat breaks the kiss looking once more at the window out of the corner of his eye and then back to Edd and smiles deeply and says with a happy light laugh. "I really should be going." One final kiss, he really couldn't get enough of the taste of those lips, and he steps down the steps backwards not wanting to break his gaze from the beautiful man in front of him, though the evening had been tainted by Kevin, Nat still wanted to remember it as a happy one. Edd waited on the porch until Nat had gotten in the car and drove off, he turns around and enters the house to find his mother in her night gown and house coat sitting in the living room waiting on him.

"You do know what time it is Mr.?" She looks at him a little bit sternly but couldn't conceal that she was happy for him at the same time.

"Almost one." Edd said bowing his head a little ashamed at being so late but happy he had been.

"I'll forgive you this time, I know you're happy to have someone and I am happy for you, but you still need to be responsible and come home when you should."

"Yes mother." Edd turns to go to his room upstairs and stops at the table in the hall where he had placed the rose Nat had given him but it was not there. "Mother where is the rose I left here?"

"I put it in with the others. Why?" Edd heads to his room hoping she didn't put it in the vase but laid it on the dresser. But it was as he had fear, inside the vase stood fourteen red roses and no way to tell which one was Nat's.

"Nat didn't send the others only the one. Do you remember where you put it in the vase?" Edd glance's at his mother, she only shook her head.

"Who else would have sent them to you?" She looked apologetic, Edd didn't blame her how was she suppose to know.

"If my suspicions are correct it's someone I want nothing to do with." Edd had also guessed it was Kevin but didn't want to ruin the night anymore then it had already been by talking about it with Nat. Though he was pretty sure Nat had come to the same conclusion. With no real solution for the situation and not being able to find Nat's rose he takes the hole batch and tosses them in the trash in the kitchen and heads back to bed. The rest of the winter vacation Nat and Edd did not talk about the roses. They did however spend as much time together as possible building the foundation of their love hoping to build a sturdy home for their hearts to live in. For Christmas the boys agreed not to get anything to extravagant, Nat got Edd a copy of The Rocky Horror Picture Show for his collection, Edd got Nat a CD of Billie Holiday's greatest hits having played it for the boy once while they relaxed together and hoping Nat was being honest that he liked her sound. The New Year's get together for the boys was a small one consisting of the three Ed's Nat, Angelica and Eddy's girlfriend Christine. You remember the girl Eddy broke Lee's heart for, aren't you all glad he did that now. Eddy abstained from any pot smoking this evening apparently Christine didn't like therefore Eddy couldn't do it, the rest of the time she wasn't around Eddy just figured what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, that didn't end well for Eddy in the long run. Ed and Angelica hooked up that night, Eddy giving Ed a friendly warning that she was a little weird the next day once he found out. Their relationship lasted for quite some time, for high school standards anyway. Needless to say everyone had someone to kiss that year at midnight. Edd and Nat fell asleep cuddled up on the couch in Ed's basement. Eddy took Christine home shortly after midnight not being the fornicating type and she would be damned if she was giving him any temptation. Ed and Angelica taking Ed's bed, revenge was had the next morning as Nat and Double D teased Ed about the noise and tonsil hockey was mentioned.

Once school began again in January things went back to normal. All four boys drove to and from school in Eddy's car, and walked Edd to his classes until they were sure things simmered down about his sexuality, which would take a while since the rumor mill was running rampant with the events at the start of winter break. As expected the cops did nothing to Kevin, the boy was strutting down the hall once again as though he owned the place. It didn't take Kevin long to find a piece of arm candy to reaffirm to everyone concerned that what was said was not true. That relationship didn't last long, how people didn't notice that most of Kevin's relationships from this point on where all show and no action was beyond belief. For he would claim he did, the girl on the other hand would deny any such action ever happened. Every time Nat saw Kevin the first day of school Edd could tell the boy was seething behind a well placed mask of composure. At lunch Nat was nowhere to be found as the boys came to pick Edd up and take him to the lunch room. Nat sat in his class that he shared with Kevin before lunch, burning holes in the back of the jocks head with his eyes. He was furious at what he did to Edd over the break and the icing on the cake was that he had the nerve to send the boy roses. Though that part hasn't been proven yet Nat was sure it was him, who else could it be in his opinion. He was determined to get to the bottom of that, so he decided not to leave early to meet his boyfriend, Edd had the other two Ed's there so he should be fine. As the bell rang he followed Kevin to his locker slamming it shut on the jock then leaning against the locker next to it, garnering a angry look from Kevin but Nat wasn't going to be intimidated by him.

"You need to leave D alone, He is no longer interested in you." Nat said poking Kevin in the chest.

"Who? Oh you mean that fucking faggot that was hitting on me at the party." Kevin replied with a smirk. "If you're talking about the field goal kick I gave to his head, I'll do it again if he tries that shit again." Kevin turns to walk away feeling he had rubbed enough salt into the wound.

"That isn't what fucking happened!" Nat grabs Kevin's shoulder and spins him around while pulling back his fist decking Kevin square in the jaw. As Kevin stumbles back from the blow Nat grabs him by the collar of his shirt yanking him forward again and decks him again. A crowd starts forming around the boys. "You did that to him because Katie outed your closet case ass." Kevin regains his balance from the second blow, swings and connects sending Nat slamming into the lockers. Nat steadies himself and tackles Kevin to the ground punching him in the stomach a few times as Kevin attempts to get a few hits in on Nat's head, but with no freedom to move and the floor blocking his arms from a full swing the hits that made contact were weak. Kevin manages to turn the tables and gets on top of Nat and has him pinned to the ground.

While he had the advantage Kevin leans in and whispers. "What he didn't like the roses?" Nat was furious he grabs Kevin and pulls with all he had sending Kevin tumbling off him bouncing his head off the floor as he lands. Straddles him and starts giving it all he had. All Kevin could do at this point was put his arms up to protect his head. The tables were turned once again when the two football jock friends of Kevin's pulls Nat off of him and holds him for Kevin to have his way with him.

While in the lunch room the Ed's heard a commotion out in the hall, Ed gets up to see what was going on telling the other two to sit still and wait there. He quickly finds the group of teenagers encircling a fight. Hearing Kevin throwing homophobic slurs in the middle Ed was certain a teal haired boy was involved and made his way to the center and rushes one of the boys holding Nat landing a punch in the boys jaw before the boy realized what was happening. The two boys did their best to fight off the other three boys. Luck for them they didn't have to for long a teacher coming around the corner to get their lunch sees the fight in progress and calls for assistance to break it up. Nat got suspended for a week for starting the fight, Ed only got in school detention for his part and was still permitted to escort Double D to classes, Kevin got two weeks out for the homophobic remarks and for the fight, his two friends got a week. Edd though secretly thrilled his boyfriend was defending his honor did let him know how unhappy he was that he got suspended from school. The argument between the two of them over this was half hearted on both sides, the makeup sex afterwards was done with all their hearts. Kevin's determination on the other hand was doubled, his jealousy over Edd and Nat's relationship plus that Edd could get over him so easily was getting the better of him.


	20. The Moon

Chapter 20- 11th grade The Moon

 **A/N-In Dante's Paradiso the sphere of the Moon is that of souls who abandoned their vows. As with the chapter Greed I have a song that goes with this one, it represents Edd's inner turmoil at the time. You will be prompted when you should play it. The Song is All of Me by Billie Holiday, yes it's an older blues song but it goes well. I don't think there are any warnings this time except feels. Nat belongs to c2ndy2c1d Rave belongs to KirKurryArt/Eyugho.**

The rest of the year went by relatively smoothly, things slowly simmered down about Edd's sexuality. Only a few die hard homophobe's holding out and continuing their harassment. Kevin continued to push Nat's buttons anytime he could, either picking a verbal fight with Nat, or sending a poem to Edd, which was quickly thrown away. Through all this Nat and Edd's relationship flourished, they would go on dates during the weekend throughout the school year whenever their schedules allowed. These dates becoming easier to make a reality once Edd got a car and both the boys got a job when they turned sixteen. They were free to do more things with the mobility and cash, not having to rely on their parent's generosity. They would take road trips down to Summerville to museums, the zoo and the amusement park during the summer, or they would just go walk around the malls and do some shopping. They would spend the night together on these weekends, doing their best to keep quiet as to not wake their parents, Ahh the challenges of a young sex life. With the problems between Nat and Kevin, Edd was never happier to see the summer arrive. It meant more time with the one he loved, these emotions becoming stronger with each day they spent together, and absolutely no time spent around Kevin.

With the summer meant more hours they could work at their jobs which in turn meant more activities the boys could do on their free time. They had taken several camping trips that summer, enjoying nature together in many different ways. Hiking, making s'mores over the camp fire, they even tried fishing quickly abandoning that for skinny dipping, but their favorite was making love under the stars. Nat told Edd he loved him countless times that summer, hoping to nurture those seeds he planted over winter break. It took Edd some time before he was able to return those words but he did finally before spring break the year before. Nat understood that a heart that has been hurt takes time to trust again so he remained patient and allowed Edd to say it when he was ready. During their last camping trip of the summer season, Nat was going all out, he snuck a little Champaign from his parents in a thermos. He also bought some steaks cabbage and corn on the cob to cook on the grill, in Edd's opinion there is nothing like cabbage cooked on an open fire (its simple wrap it in aluminum foil and use a lot of butter). After dinner they watched the sun set from their lawn chairs position by the lake, watching the colors of orange and red dance across the water as the held hands. That night they made love again under the stars, through the darkness Edd could see that Nat never broke their gaze when he could help it, as though he was trying to peer into Edd' soul relishing the blaze of love and desire he had placed there.

Afterwards they retreated to the tent to lie in each other's arms basking in the glow of one another. "I love you D." Nat kisses him on the forehead as Edd is tucked under his right arm with his head on Nat's Chest.

"I love you to Nat." Edd returns the kiss upon Nat's lips.

"You're very special to me, I want you to know that, and you will always have a place in my heart as I hope I will always be in yours." Nat places his left hand on Edd's chest tenderly. "Whether we are here like this." He squeezes Edd gently. "Or far apart you will always be a part of me."

Looking up once again Edd could see a tear falling down Nat's cheek. "Where is this coming from Nat?"

"Nowhere, I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me." Nat wipes the tear away.

"Then why are you crying?" Edd was enjoying the sentiment, but the combination of tears had him worried.

"I'm just happy is all." Nat rolled over to face Edd wrapping his other arm around the boy. "Don't worry ok, it's time to go to sleep." Edd nuzzled his face into Nat's chest listening to the sound of his heart drifting off to sleep in the warmth of those protective loving arms. Summer break was over and school had started again the same few homophobic jerks still taunted Edd, the school on the other hand seeing a decline in the threat to Edd's safety no longer allowed Nat and the other two Edd's to leave their classes early. Stating to Mrs. Kanker that the threat was minimal and that the teacher's presents in the hallways between classes should be enough to deter any violence during school hours. She wasn't happy about it but had to respect their decision, no further death threats have been made and Edd eventually had to stick up for himself or they would run all over him all his life, and she couldn't be momma bear forever. For the Next couple of months the boys lives were pretty normal, they would hang out at Ed's after school watching cheesy horror movies, playing video games and smoking pot. Angelica and Ed's relationship was still strong, having a few rocky points here and there but what relationship doesn't. Eddy and Christine however didn't last the summer, Eddy's flippant attitude toward things and Christine's strict belief structure ground against each other until finally around mid July she had enough and called it off with him. I believe the story goes that she suggested he go to bible study with her so he could see that God was the only drug he needed. According to Eddy all he said was "I'll think about it." And she tosses her milkshake in his lap and storms off. At least that's the story according to Eddy, her side on the other hand was totally different, something about not needing bible thumpers telling him what he can do with his body kind of thing.

At the end of August and the beginning of September Edd noticed Nat becoming more standoffish, he wouldn't talk as much, it was harder to get him to come around and hang out or commit to a date night always saying he had something he had to do at home. After about a week of this Edd had enough of it and cornered Nat as they were leaving school for the day. "I don't know what is up Mr. but I want answers."

"About what?" Nat said with a sad look in his eye.

"You know what this is about, don't act ignorant." Edd was determined to find out what was going on with his boyfriend and wasn't going to have it shrugged off.

"Why don't you come over tonight around six, we'll talk then. I've got to go though the parents are expecting me." Nat said and hurried on by to get to his bus. Edd drove home having a few hours till he was suppose to go to Nat's for their discussion he tried to keep his mind occupied with homework but only managed to do very little of it. Emotion _"Oh lord what could this be about, he's breaking up with me isn't he."_ Logic _"If he was going to do that he would have just done it then and there, he isn't one to conceal how he is feeling normally."_ Emotion _"Then why the moodiness? Why avoid me?"_ Logic _"Don't panic there has to be an explanation to this just let him talk about it before you go crying on me."_ Finally once the hour had arrived to meet Nat at his house Edd leaves and drives over, knocking on the door Nat's father answers the door dressed in his BDU uniform.

"Hello Edd, he's up in his room." Mr. Goldberg steps aside letting Edd into the house. As Edd enters he sees the pictures are no long on the walls the coffee tables are bare of their decorations and there are boxes taped up in the corners labeled for what room they go into and several stacks of newspapers and folded boxes in the other corner. He heads upstairs to Nat's room tears already forming in his eyes at the realization on what's going on.

 **(Begin All of Me by Billie Holiday)**

He opens the door to see a sulking Nat sitting on his bed holding a picture in his hand, the copy of the one sitting on Edd's dresser where Nat gave him the rose on their first official date. "You're moving." Is all Edd could get out trying to hold back the sobs and tears that threatened to spill forth from his eyes.

Nat looks up into ocean blue eyes and Edd could see Nat had already been crying, the glass on the picture hold a few drops that had fallen upon it. "I'm sorry D I didn't know how to tell you, I knew it would break your heart as it has already broken mine." Nat stands and puts the picture on the bed, coming over to Edd he wraps his arms around the boy he loved and sobs into his shoulder. Edd's heart breaks for multiple reasons at this moment. The tears run down both boys faces staining each other's shirts. "Dad got transferred again, we will be gone before the end of the month." Nat said between sniffles coming out of Edd shoulder to look his boyfriend in the eye, the hurt in his eyes evident to Edd.

Tears continuing to stream down Edd's face, he swallowed down the sob. "We could run away and find someplace to be together."

"No D we can't do that." Nat said shaking his head wiping the tears from his face.

"Just let me know where you're going and I'll follow then." Edd was desperate to find a solution for them to stay together.

"No, think how that would make your mother feel. You would break her heart." Nat caressed his check with his thumb.

Edd collapses to the floor Nat holding on to his arms descended with him and cradles Edd in his arms. "Isn't love supposed to conquer all? Aren't we worthy of riding off in the sunset?" Edd rubs his tear stained face in Nat's chest.

"Yes D we are worthy of all that, it's just the fates intervene sometimes, and there is little we can do about it." Nat nuzzled his face into the top of his head. "I will always love you Edd, no matter what, but you need to be strong and move on for me ok. I need you to be happy, I need to know you're going to be ok." He squeezed Edd a little and rubbed his shoulder.

"I'll try Nat, I'm going to miss you so much." Edd sobs take over and he couldn't say anymore.

"I'll miss you to D, I love you." Nat holds Edd in his arms tightly not wanting the let go but knowing their time together was limited from this moment on. He was determined to make what time they had left special for Edd so the boy who he was losing knew that his heart was his and that he would always be in it until the day he died. Edd's mother and Nat's father both agreed that Edd could stay the night even though it was a school night, the boys laid in each other's arms both holding tightly to each other never wanting to let go whispering their love to one another determined to leave a deep mark in one another's hearts. The boy's spent every free moment they had left together for the remainder of the month, though it hurt Edd helped them pack just to be with Nat as much as possible. But time slipped through their fingers quickly and before they knew it the time had come to say their farewells. Promises were made to keep in touch, to this day Edd and Nat are close friends keeping in touch through social media and emails, though their lives never crossed paths again. Nat fell madly in love with a boy in college, a drama queen studying the performing arts. Nat couldn't get enough of the boy even though he had a foul mouth and rude attitude. Edd was happy for him and wish him the best, though their love had changed through the years they both kept a special place in each other's heart for one another.

The weeks that followed their goodbye Edd was a mess hardly able to keep his concentration in school, just going through the motions, walking as though in a daze. Ed and Eddy did their best to help Edd through this, but knew it would take time, it broke Angelica's heart to see him so distraught. A week after Nat's departure Kevin gives Edd a forceful shove, simultaneously pushing a piece of paper into his chest and when it dropped to the floor it looked as though it had fallen from Edd's pile of books. Edd initially wanted to throw it away not interested in what it had to say not really in the mood for Kevin's bull shit. But curiosity got the better of him and maybe just his emotional state at the time he read it anyways.

"To my angel in tears,

Don't cry my angel dear  
For I will always be near  
To watch you from afar  
To guide you to your star  
I want to smile as you laugh  
But it breaks my heart in half  
I want to make you smile  
But I'm stuck in rank and file  
And this distance feels like miles  
And I'm afraid it will be awhile  
Before I can ever earn your trust  
Showing that I feel more than lust  
For your sweet and precious heart  
Begging for a brand new start  
As I crawl upon my knees  
Looking for a way to please  
Proving my true devotion  
And my hearts emotion

From your Star."

 **A/N- I hope the feels were good, I'm so nervous about this one.**


	21. Mercury

Chapter 21- 11th grade Mercury

 **A/N- Well here's where it's going to get difficult hmmm so updates may be farther apart from here on out for a period, bare with me. Mercury in Dante's Paradiso stands for the ambitious. Nat belongs to c2ndy2c1d. Warnings- Language, mention of drug use.**

Edd stood there in the hallway still holding on to the paper Kevin had shoved into his chest, rereading it again, trying to figure out why the jock was going through so much trouble to talk to him. What made him feel the need to try to get Edd's attention, if it was just for sex Edd was sure he could find it somewhere else there was no need to expend this much time and energy. A lot of the girls in school, and maybe a few of the boys, would be happy to take care of that for him, so why the interests? Many questions like this raced through Edd's head drowning out the clamor of the students around him until a hand came roughly down upon his left shoulder bringing him out of his train of thought. Looking to his left expecting one of his bullies to be standing there ready to say something mean about him, but was pleasantly surprised that it was Ed with Angelica tucked under his left arm with her arm wrapped around his waist, Eddy standing just a little behind them. Angelica's quick eye spots the paper in Double D's hand. "Hey D what you got there?"

Edd looks back at the paper then back at her. "It's nothing." Edd was still holding it.

"Another one of Kevin's attempts to win your heart back?" Ed said with a little bit of bitterness in his voice, Double D nod's and displays the paper for them to see it better. "I don't know what his deal is, but he hasn't taken his eyes off you since we got here." Ed points up the hall, the group looks in the direction he had pointed and Edd sees Kevin looking right at him, he was slowly putting his books into his locker, a mixed expression of yearning sadness and one would say apology upon his face. "I've got half a mind to go knock that expression off his face." Edd continues curling and uncurling his hands into fists

While Kevin was still looking Double D crumples up the piece of paper. "No Ed that isn't going to solve anything, you'll just get yourself in trouble." Double D starts walking down the hall in Kevin's direction with his group of friends in tow, as he passed the jock he drops the paper at Kevin's feet and continues to walk on by.

"Oh Double D, you're littering." Eddy said with a hint of amusement laced in his voice.

"Fuck it." Double D exited the building and went to his car, all four climbed in and headed down to Ed's. On the way there Ed rolled a joint in the backseat while continuing to ponder what Kevin could be up to.

"I wish I could figure out what this game he is playing is." Ed licks the paper and puts the last twist on the joint. "I mean first he wants to be with you then he doesn't because you get outed then sends you to the hospital because of Katie's mouth now he wants to be with you again. This boy is all kinds of fucked up.

"I feel sorry for him really." Angelica chimes in, Ed gives her a confused look. "He is at a very difficult junction in his life. Does he continue to hide, letting someone who he seems to care about slip through his fingers, whether his feelings are true or not is another story but I would like to hope they are if he is putting this much effort into." Angelica contemplated this train of thought for a moment.

"I still say he doesn't deserve to lick the ground D walks on." Ed wasn't going to give an inch on this.

"I really don't see what he's got to lose by being honest." Eddy says in a huff, not thinking it through as usual.

"He's got a lot to lose Eddy." Angelica stated, Ed and Eddy not sure why she was defending Kevin so much, Double D understood her motives a little. "You don't know what his home life is like, the things he has been taught growing up his family could be very religious and drilled it in his head that its wrong, which could also lead to him being kicked out, he could lose all his friends because they seem to be most of the jerks still picking on D because of who he is. And with all that loss it could really destroy him and make him do something drastic and irreversible."

"Angelica's right Eddy, those were all my fears while I was in the closet. And let's not forget how you reacted when you found out." Double D wasn't trying to rub salt in the wound but it had to be said.

"You don't have to rub it in, I said I'm sorry." Eddy sunk in his seat pouting a little bit.

"I'm sorry Eddy but its common place when people come out to lose some friend's and sometimes family because they can't accept a person's truth." Double D started feeling a little sorry for Kevin, who knew what his life was like, he remembers hearing Kevin say his father was ex-military so it is possible that he is homophobic. Hearing that all the time from people in school, even while in the closet, was bad enough in Double D's opinion he couldn't imagine how it would be to have to come home and hear it as well. He pulls in front of Ed's house and parks.

"I just wish he would figure out his truth already and be done with it." Ed said as he exited the vehicle. "But if he hurts you again in the process of finding himself I'll kill him." The four friends effectively dropped the subject not wanting to dwell on negative things anymore that day, they retreated down into Ed's basement bedroom and lit the joint trying to mellow out from the day and bring their moods up.

The following day was pretty much the same, anytime Edd saw Kevin in the halls Kevin was wearing that sad apologetic look upon his face. At one point Edd could have sworn that it looked like his eyes were tear filled and in pain, as though merely looking at Edd brought up some deep down emotion in him. Edd could only hope it was regret, but still the pity in his heart grew for the boy, the unknown part of Kevin's life gnawing at Edd's mind wondering what kept Kevin in the closet. At the end of the day Angelica did not catch a ride with the Ed's saying she had something to take care of and that she would catch them later. Angelica had put a note in Kevin's locker just before last period started, pretending to be Edd she asked Kevin to meet her in the library of school. Hoping to curtail any negative reactions he might have from being trick and a place to hide and watch to see if he brought his goons incase this has all been an elaborate ruse on his part. After giving Ed her excuses and kissing him goodbye she headed to the library and waited in a aisle of book shelves by the main entrance but within view of the second entrance incase he came in that way. She waited for twenty minutes which was in her opinion enough time for Kevin to have gotten the letter and ditched whoever he was with, she was certain the football team didn't have practice today and she was growing impatient with his absents. She was about to give up on this endeavor and start the long walk home when the door opened and Kevin came hurrying in. Alone and scanning the room he looked distraught, apparently afraid he had missed Edd because he was late getting here.

Angelica observed him for a minute longer to satisfy herself that this wasn't a farce she whispered his name getting his attention and waved him over to the row she was in. Once he entered the aisle she was in the smile on his face disappeared once he saw it was her and she was alone. "Where's Edd?" Kevin whispered.

"He's not coming." She replied also in a whisper. "We know what's been going on and I'm sorry Kevin I sent that note." Kevin's face grew stern not being happy at being tricked. "I have to know what it is you're playing at. You have to understand our concern Kevin, we are his friends, and after what you have done we have to be sure what you are doing now isn't just to hurt him more."

Kevin needing someone to talk to about this decides not to deny her allegation's, his expression went from the stern look to sorrow very quickly at the mention of that night. "I know I fucked up, nothing I say can excuse that."

"Try me." Angelica said clutching her books to her chest. She wanted to be sympathetic but she also wanted to remain mad at him as well.

"Well first I was drunk, after that teal haired guy Nat told me he was dating Edd I just started chugging the hell out of the beer. It drove me nuts that he was with someone else. I know that is no excuse." Kevin took a breath a weight was being lifted from his chest after finally being able to admit openly that he had feelings for Edd. "Then Katie did what she did and I was told he was saying it, only finding out who really said it later, but at the time I was so scared of being found."

"What scared you so much that you would hurt someone else to prove you're not gay?" Angelica had an idea what it was but she needed to hear it.

"Of losing everything, my family, my friends, football all of it. I was so terrified, and truthfully I still am, that it would all go up in smoke. That they will do to me what they did to him when he came out, and that made me so mad that this world wouldn't let me love who I wanted to." Kevin was visibly shaken from the thought that Angelica rubbed his shoulder to comfort him, she might think he's a jerk but he still needs an understanding ear.

"Kevin he didn't lose everyone, his parents still love him, and his closest friends are still there." She said this gently trying to sooth his troubled soul. "You never know, it might not turn out as bad as you fear. As far as your friends go though, if they can't accept who you truly are they aren't worth your time or energy."

"I know, I understand what you're saying, but fuck my old man if he found out if he didn't kill me I'm sure he'd kick me out." Cursing a little louder then he should have the stress of that situation clear upon his face he ran his right hand through his hair shifting his weight from his left foot to his right and pivoting his body then back again to face her.

""I understand Kevin I do, if it came down to that I don't know how but I will find some way to help you. No one deserves that especially not from family." Angelica's heart was aching for the situation Kevin was in. It didn't excuse his actions in her eyes, but she understood that fear is a powerful force that makes people do stupid things. Her kind heart would not allow her to look away from someone in need even if they had wronged someone she cared about, everyone deserves a chance at redemption. (Just like Darth Vader did)

"So what do I do? I'm pretty stuck aren't I, I'm sure he isn't even going to talk to me let alone anything else." Kevin's eyes were pleading to Angelica begging for help. "I at least want to say I'm sorry to him."

"No I'm pretty sure right now he isn't going to want to talk to you." With Angelica's words Kevin's eyes dropped to the floor. "But I can talk to him, see what he says. You do owe him an apology that much is sure. As far as anything else goes, I would say defiantly not at this moment and definitely not while you're still in the closet, that's what drove you to hurt him the first time and I won't allow a repeat on that." She puts her hand on his chin and raises it so he is looking her in the eye. "And if you lay a hand on him ever again you will weigh a few ounces less for I will remove your junk and mail it to you for Christmas."

Kevin raises his hands defensively and in his best Emperor Kuzco impersonation "I understand, No Touchy."

"Like I said I'll see what I can do about you at least getting to apologize after that you're on your own." She releases his chin and starts for the door. "I got to go and I'll let you know what he says." With that she heads to the office and uses the phone, figuring it had been enough time for Edd to get home or to Ed's she would ask him for a ride and request him to come alone so she could talk to him. Once he arrived and she got in the car they drove off she turns to him. "Now don't be mad at me darling."

"What have you done Angelica?" Edd didn't like the way this conversation had started.

"I talked to Kevin." She flinches to his response.

"You did what?" Saying it louder then he intended but at the same time he totally did.

"Come on D just hear me out." She then goes into the details of what was said in their brief conversation, omitting the neutering part. "He wants to apologize to you at the very least ok. He's scared, just like you were, on what will happen if anyone finds out. And that fear drove him to do something he regrets deeply, I can see it in his eyes D." If D could see her eyes they were pleading with him to show a little kindness even to those he thought didn't deserve it. "At least give him a chance to say sorry."

Edd understood what fear can make you do, it made him throw her away for a over a year and she forgave him. It made him afraid to be himself and forced him to collapse in upon himself, afraid to express himself in case someone noticed something wasn't quite right about how he moved his hand or said something. Even the way he turned his head or looked at someone was under his own scrutiny never allowing himself to be himself to afraid of the consequences. Sure Kevin had hurt him, but where will we be as people if we never learned to forgive. "Ok I'll hear him out, but only if it's over the phone or if Ed and Eddy are there."

"That's fair, I'll let him know." Angelica had done her good deed and was quite satisfied with herself. The following day Angelica delivered Edd's terms to Kevin, the jock seemed very happy at the news. But now a week has gone by since she had told him and still no word from Kevin has come to Edd or Angelica's ears on when where or how he wanted to deliver this apology. Edd had given up any hope that Kevin was going to follow through with his words, and was beginning not to care whether he did or didn't at this point. It was lunch time now and Edd had gone to his locker to put his books away and then head to the cafeteria to meet his friends. But yet again there was a note in his locker from Kevin.

"To Edd

How do you say you're sorry  
When your heart is full of worry  
That you will be shunned  
For what you have done  
Denied all the time to say  
The price you came to pay  
To try and make it right  
And undo that one night  
When blinded by rage  
I had set the stage  
For my own down fall  
No longer to stand tall  
While locked in your gaze  
My shame is a blaze  
Give me one last chance  
And perhaps we may glance  
A bright new day  
Where you will stay  
And hear me out  
So I don't have to shout  
That I truly regret  
All that you have met  
At the mercy of my hands  
That was never my plan  
Perhaps what I do next  
Will prove more than this text

From Kevin Anthony Barr"

After reading the note he closes his locker and then Edd was swung around by a hand grabbing his right arm and his shocked blue eyes were locked to apologetic green. "I'm sorry Edd." Kevin reaches up and holds onto the back of Edd's neck and locks their lips together in the middle of the hallway with what felt like half the school watching them.


	22. Saturn

Chapter 22- 11th grade Saturn

 **A/N- Glad I got positive reviews on Kevin attempting to redeem himself. NOW ON TO THE DRAMA BOMB! (EVIL LAUGH) Oh and thank you all for putting up with my bad spelling lol Warnings-Language, Violence, Homophobia.  
**

Edd was frozen there on the spot, not only because Kevin was kissing him but because all eyes in the hallway were on them, he could just die of embarrassment. The kiss only last less than a minute but felt like an eternity to Edd, the kiss was finally broken when someone yelled "Faggots" from across the hall and Kevin turned his head to see where it might have come from. "Kevin what are you doing?" A deep blush of embarrassment was upon Edd's face.

Kevin's face's Edd again a look of concern in his eyes. "Trying to say I'm sorry." A half hearted smile played upon his lips.

"Kevin, it's going to take more than a kiss and some words, but you have my attention." Edd wiggled his way out from between Kevin and the locker to stand a good arms length from him for more personal space. "Though I commend you on coming out, you could have found a better way to do it."

"How so?" Kevin knew the gravity of his actions but didn't understand the implications Edd was getting at.

"I don't know probably something that didn't shove it in their faces would have been better." Edd started walking away toward the cafeteria. "I will see you around Kevin." Edd tucked the poem into one of his folders, he might not have forgiven Kevin but this day was worth remembering. Kevin watched as Edd walked down the hall, a pit forming in his stomach with the realization at what he had done, only to be confirmed as he was slammed into the locker he was standing by and "Queer" being yelled at him. Turning to look he sees his two friends from football and Rolf walking down the hall toward the cafeteria, a look of disgust in all three boys' eyes and mixed with hate in two of them. Edd went through the lunch line and got his government approved nutritional intake for the day. Once his "lunch" was paid for he quickly found his friends and sat down filling them in on the events that had just taken place with Kevin.

Angelica lets out a squeal like a fan girl who's OTP finally did the nasty, all three boy's look at here wondering if she was going to fall off the bench with the amount of flailing she was doing. Regaining her composure she looks at all three. "What? At least he's finally come out."

"I just wish he hadn't used D as a prop." Ed said still not even close to forgiving Kevin yet.

"Well I think it's cute, coming out and showing the world he has feelings for Edd in one go." Angelica said with a pout upon her face.

"There's that YAOI girl rearing her head that we all love and adore." Double D was trying to make light of her obsession with gay boys.

"I say we sit back and watch the fall out." Eddy said pointing to Kevin who was just coming out of the lunch line. The four of them watched as he walked past his normal table of friends, who were all giving him death stares. Walking past them he comes to sit down with Nazz and her boyfriend, Double D watched their interaction curiously not having a good history with Nazz about his sexuality. Nazz seemed to be talking to Kevin normally her boyfriend on the other hand seemed a little uncomfortable with him but was being polite from what Double D could tell.

"Well looks like he didn't lose all his friends." Angelica said quiet happy that Kevin had some support.

"Or they just don't know yet." Ed replied.

"They know, her boyfriend looks uncomfortable, could be due to Kevin being her ex but I'm betting it's the other thing." Double D pointed out, the topic abandoned the rest of the period lunch was spent talking about the latest editions of their favorite comic books, upcoming video game releases or some B grade horror flick Ed wanted to go see. After lunch it was apparent that word had quickly gotten around about the kiss and it was all that anyone could talk about. A few girls would give Edd a mean look as though he had ruined any hope they may have had with Kevin. The football jocks were no better except theirs were more along the lines of death stares, the common misconception was that Edd had turned Kevin into a fag. That somehow he had bewitched him or through some demonic nonsense had actually turned him from one hundred percent all American straight boy into a lip wristed screaming queen before their very eyes. _"How absurd."_ Edd thought. _"You can't change someone like that, is it just their ego to think everyone is straight and they either chooses to be gay or are turned gay."_ Pondering upon some of the stereotypical thoughts some people had always baffled Edd. Other then the rude comments he had been hearing or the glares from some people the day did go by smoothly without truly any incident. Edd made it home in one piece, he spent an hour on his homework having promised his mother he would do better this year. He went downstairs to see what they were having for dinner and pick out a movie for them to watch that evening, they were having roast with potatoes and carrots baked in with it, and the movie he choose was Mommie Dearest. Edd and his mother had started a running joke about wire hangers or I'm not mad at you I'm mad at the dirt. As they were in the kitchen preparing to eat a knock was heard at the door, Edd sets his plate down and heads to the door not checking the peephole first he opens it to find a beaten Kevin leaning against the door frame.

Edd in shock catches Kevin as he tumbles over. "I'm sorry, I didn't know where else to go." Kevin says through labored breaths.

Edd hollers for his mother then turns back to Kevin. "What happened Kevin?"

Edd's parents hurry into the hallway to find their son supporting the jock lifting him back up to a standing position and putting his arm around the jocks waist and Kevin's arm over his shoulder. As he brought him into the living room Kevin divulges the events that led up to his arrival. "As I was getting ready for practice the team beat me in the locker room saying they did want a fag on their team." Edd gently places him on the couch. "It took me a half hour before I could try and go home." Kevin's eyes tear up. "When I got there my dad was in a rage screaming at me about how no son of his was going to be a faggot. I told him there was nothing that could change it, god knows I've tried, and he hit me D knocked me to the floor so I ran and he was screaming behind me to never come back that I wasn't his son no more." The tears started falling from Kevin's eyes

Edd looks up at his parents."Mom, Dad this is Anthony he just cam…." Edd's mother interrupted him.

"I know who this is Edd, don't lie to me." Her face was stern, she knew this was the boy who put her son in the hospital a little less than a year ago.

"Mother he needs our help." Edd's eyes were pleading. "What do you suggest we do throw him out with nowhere to go?

Her sons words cut deep, if he could forgive the boy in his hour of need why couldn't she, in a moment she decided to do the Christian thing and help her fellow man even one she had thought a moment ago didn't deserve it. "Alright we'll help him." She turned her attention to Kevin. "But don't think for a second that we won't throw you out if you do anything to hurt our son."

"Yes ma'am, I won't." Kevin said a trace of shame upon his face. Inside he was happy that some people could be so kind even though what he had done. After checking to see if Kevin might need to go to the hospital and finding it was only a few deep bruises a black eye and bloody nose, they cleaned him up and prepared him a plate. Deciding a movie about an abusive mother would be inappropriate at this time Edd decides to change the movie to The Haunting (1963). After dinner Edd takes Kevin upstairs and gives him something to wear to bed a spare toothbrush and a towel and shows him to the restroom. After taking his shower Kevin finds Edd in his room and knocks on the frame asking permission to enter. Edd acknowledges him and waves him in, Kevin takes a seat upon his bed and says. "I want to thank you for helping me. You didn't have to, but you did."

"You really should be thanking my parents it's their house after all." Edd said continuing to play his video game.

"Yes, but if it wasn't for you, you're mother would have probably kicked me out." Kevin's voice was understandably meek at the moment, after the day he has had who could blame him for feeling down. Edd understood this like no other having gone through it last year.

"I will let them know of your appreciation for their kindness." Edd was still trying to put up a cold front around Kevin but his heart was breaking for the boy. He had suffered more than Edd had, losing your family is a terrible thing and Edd could not fathom the despair Kevin was going through over that. Edd shut down the RPG he was playing and took out the game replacing it with a fighting game instead, he picks up the second controller and motions for Kevin to come join him. Goading Kevin with trash talk, he was trying to take the boys mind off of his current situation and hoping to get a laugh out of him or the very least a smile. Succeeding twenty minutes later when Kevin finally let a smile slip across his face as Edd did a little victory dance in his desk chair when he defeated Kevin. Kevin was loosening up finally returning the trash talk and enjoying Edd's company thankful that Edd cared enough to try and make him smile. At nine Edd takes Kevin into Lee's old room. "Sorry it's a little frilly they haven't redecorated it since Lee left."

"No it's fine. Beggar's can't be choosers." Kevin said eyeing the pink comforter on top of the bed with several stuffed animals still decorating the room. Lee didn't want to take them with her because they had been bought while living in a sinful house.

"Alright I'll see you tomorrow." Edd said as he exited the room and closed the door, retreating into his own room he shut the door and got ready for bed. A few hours later Edd is awoken to a sound. It was barely there but he could hear it, getting out of his bed he exits his room, once in the hallway the sound was a little more noticeable and coming from the room Kevin was in. As he neared it became distinct, the sound of a muffled sob, Edd opens the door quietly. He steps into the room and makes his way over and sits on the bed, Kevin jumps with a panic not hearing Edd enter the room. Seeing the shocked but sad look on Kevin's face Edd gets back up pulls back the covers and climbs into bed with him, holding the boy as he quietly sobs into his chest, not saying a word for what could be said at a time like this that would make the world aright again. Kevin cries himself to sleep in Edd's arms, Edd quickly follows suit, waking up an hour before his parents would to return to his room as to not arouse suspicion. The boy's woke up and got ready for school, Edd's mother getting Kevin's home information to get into contact with his father to let him know that Kevin would be staying there for the time being and that he should be lucky that she didn't contact CPS on him. The boy's arrived at school rather early for Kevin's taste, Edd's father having dropped them off. The boy's said their farewells as Kevin went to his locker then to the coach's office to resign from football, though it felt like letting them win, he figuring his health was more important than a game. Edd went to the library to wait out his time before class, about fifteen minutes before class was to start he went to the restroom to relieve himself so he wouldn't have to go in the middle of first period. Shortly after entering and while in the stall the door to the restroom opens and two sets of feet appear outside the stall. A bang on the door and a familiar voice is heard.

"Come out faggot we need to talk to you." Edd was beginning to wonder why he even used the schools restrooms anymore. He knew he couldn't stay in there all day and they would just wait him out might as well get it over with. Once he opened the door to the stall he was yanked out and thrown against the farthest wall from the entrance to the restroom. "We never liked you queer, and now you've gone and turned Kevin gay." Awe these two again, a punch to the jaw, Edd straightens up and looks them dead in the eye quietly telling them they would have to do better than that. "Oh tough guy are ya?" One punches him in the stomach making him bend over in pain and the other brings his fist down and punches him in the other side of the jaw as he turns his head to look at them, bringing him to the ground. As he was on the ground they of course stared kicking him. "You fucking faggot how dare you do that to Kevin."

"BOYS!" They stop and all three of them look in the direction of the call. There stood Nazz with three boys flanking her. Slowly strutting her way over keeping a careful distance from the assailants she continues. "Now Double D here didn't do anything to Kevin, he has always been who he is. If your pinhead sized brains can't comprehend that maybe this will teach you." She raises her hand and gives a signal to the boys around her, who obediently grabbed the other two and pounded them into the dirt as she walks up to Edd and extends her hand. Helping him to his feet she walks him out of the bathroom. "Kevin asked me to keep an eye on you, why he cares for you I will never know, but if he thinks your special then that's enough reason for me." They exited the bathroom as the sounds of the ass whooping continued. Her and the boy who was standing watch at the door escort Edd to where Kevin was, she looks Kevin in the eyes and says. "You might want to keep a better eye on this one." Turns and walks away. Kevin seeing the bruises on Edd's cheeks cups his face with one hand and brushes the bruise with his thumb then examines his eyes to see if any bruising was forming there in case he might have a broken nose.

Satisfied that there wasn't he release Edd's face. "Let's get you to your friends." They walk to where Ed and Eddy normally would be hoping the rest of the day would be less eventful.


	23. The Sun

Chapter 23- 11th grade The Sun

 **A/N- The Sun is the wise in Dante's Paradiso, this title also hold another meaning as well, it's like a raid boss in a MMORPG I use to play would say "By fire be purged!" This one might be a bit long due to the subject and material I want to get into it. Warnings- Language, Homophobia, Depressive nature, misogynistic behavior and drug use.**

Edd and Kevin made it home that day both with a few more bruises upon them, Kevin was jumped by three of the football players as he was leaving the building to head toward Edd's car. Edd had to teach him a little bit about safety when it came to being bullied. "Kevin I know you are use to being on the top of the food chain and think your untouchable. But welcome to my world now, I'm not trying to be mean to you but you have to use your head now. For the time being you need to stay in groups like Zebra do, it makes it harder for them to get to you, if you find yourself all alone and you are able to try and find one of us. And whatever you do try not to antagonize them it just makes the ensuing beating that much worse." That last part was going to be hard for Kevin, him and his big mouth would earn him a few black eyes before this year was out. He was determined not to just lie there and take it, he would go down fighting if he must. If he would only heed the advice given to him he would find his life less stressful and probably a little more bearable. Ed and Eddy though grateful that Kevin had the foresight to have someone else watching over Double D in case there was fall out, still were not comfortable being friendly with Kevin at the moment. They were waiting for the other shoe to fall and Kevin's true colors to come to the surface. Saying so to Double D once they he pulled up to Ed's house to drop them off, Ed asking D to come in for a second.

"D I know you're a kind hearted guy, I just don't know if you're making the right choice here by helping him out." Ed was flustered trying to say what he felt but trying not look like a dick to his big hearted friend. "I just don't want you getting hurt again."

Edd's face looked a little agitated at the insinuation. "I'm not going to get hurt Ed, I'm just helping him out, he's lost pretty much everything he has known and it's the right thing to do. It's not like I'm sleeping with him or anything."

Ed's face melted into one of concern. "I just hope you know what you're doing man." He holds up his fist, Edd meekly gives it a little bump with his own fist then turns and walks back to his car.

"They're not happy your helping me are they?" Kevin says with a sigh.

"Whatever makes you say that?" Edd wasn't stupid, he knew exactly what would make him think that he just wanted to act like Kevin had nothing to worry about with them.

"The fact that big Ed was staring holes in the back of my head the entire ride." Kevin looked a little sad at the realization that it was going to be a hard fought battle to earn the trust of Edd's friends. For him it seemed at this moment that they were probably going to be the only people other than Nazz that he would have any hope of accepting him for who he was.

"Don't worry about them, they will come around, they just need some time." Edd told himself he needed to have a long conversation with his friends about forgiveness and acceptance, not that the last part would be the problem. Edd steered the conversation in another direction to try and cheer Kevin up, maybe plan something for them to do over the weekend, get the boy out of the house and show him life continues and it will get better. They arrived at Edd's house a few minutes later getting their books they headed inside, once inside and the door locked Edd goes into the living room, followed by Kevin, to see if his parents had left any notes for him to do such as chores. Finding none but seeing that there were a few messages on the answering machine he reaches over and presses play, instantly wishing he hadn't.

Kevin's father's voice comes over the speaker. "Pick up you fucking queer I know this is where you're staying." Message one ends going to the next one. "Are you too much of a pussy to talk to your old man faggot." Message two ends going to the next one Edd reaches over to push stop, but Kevin stops him and shakes his head, he wasn't going to be scared to hear what his bigot of a father had to say. "Well I guess you're staying at your fudge packing boyfriends house, don't come here looking for your stuff I took it all to the dump this morning. Me and your mother don't want to see you again, stay there and catch AIDS and die you queer. And tell that bitch to keep her nose out of our business." That was the last message. Kevin was failing miserably at putting up a brave front, his eyes told the tail of his pain, he was doing his best to keep the tears from falling but there was no mistaking that he was on the brink.

Edd sits him down and goes to the kitchen to get him a glass of tea, upon returning he hands him the cup and sits next to him. "I can't imagine how much that must hurt you." Edd sees Kevin blink his eyes a few times he continues to stare off as though contemplating something half way paying attention to his surroundings. "Kevin, are you alright?" Edd puts a hand on the jocks shoulder bringing him out of his thoughts.

He turns his head to face Edd bringing a half hearted smile to his face. "Yeah I'm just fine, I'm not going to let that bring me down." Edd knew he was lying just trying to keep his tough guy appearance in front of him.

"If you need to talk let me know, I'm always here for you." They watch some TV while waiting for Edd's mother to come home, when she finally arrives, Edd pulls her into the kitchen and tells her about the messages Kevin's "father" had left. "So basically what he's got on his back is all he owns in this world, I've got a little bit of money on me I was just wondering if maybe you could pitch in a little so we can get him a few things to wear." Edd did his best puppy dog eyes in hopes to sway his mother into action.

It worked, Leslie might have a tough outer shell but on the inside she was a softy. "Sure honey let me go see what I got on me." She checks her purse retrieving a couple of twenties and handing them to Edd. "Just get him a few things to last the week ok, we will get him some more once your father and I get paid."

"Thanks mom." Edd hugs her and gives her a warm smile of appreciation then heads back into the living room stuffing the money in his wallet as he went. "Come on we're getting out of here for a minute." Edd says beckoning Kevin to follow him with his right hand. They get into the car and Edd heads toward the country instead of the commercial distract of town. That was the beauty of the country roads you could circle the town in relatively empty roads do your thing and come out where you needed to be. As they headed up Peach Tree hill Edd hands Kevin his weed. "I hope you know how to roll a joint." Edd gave him a side glance and saw the shock on Kevin's face.

"Sure dork I know how to." Kevin never expected this person he always thought of as a dweeb to be into pot. He quickly removed the seeds and few stems that were in it and rolled up the joint. He lit it and took a drag off of it passing it to Edd. Edd examined it then took a hit, concluding he wasn't as good at rolling as Ed was, it was a little tight making it hard to pull in smoke and "pop" he missed a seed. They circled the town finishing their joint arriving at Wal-Mart with a case of the giggles, getting out of the car they head in and found Kevin a few pairs of jeans several shirts a pack of underwear and socks. Kevin doing a mock fashion show for Edd as he tried on the new clothes, Edd giving him a boisterous applause and a few cat calls drawing the attention of a few nearby shoppers, which both boys laughed at the stares they were receiving. Deciding on which shirts he liked the best, to Edd's surprise he decided on a few comic book character T-shirts. Sure Kevin could like these things to, Edd had just never seen him wear anything like this before at school so he was shocked that Kevin was into comics. They checked out and headed to the car on their way there they passed one of Kevin's ex teammates who just gave them both a mean look.

Once passed them he hollers at them "Why don't you and your faggot boyfriend just die already Kevin."

Kevin starts to turn around and say something but Edd grabs him by the arm to keep him facing the direction they were walking. "Just ignore him Kevin, he can't help it that he's ignorant, don't give him any fuel for his hate." Edd was only trying to keep Kevin out of another fight and teach him how bullies work at the same time. The tactic unfortunately was not working this time.

As they reached Edd's car and Edd put the last bag in the trunk the jock came up and slams the trunk on him barely missing Edd's hand. "Didn't you hear me queer? Why don't you and your fag boyfriend take a long walk off a cliff?" Edd had been pushed a little too far, Kevin takes a step forward ready to deck the guy, his attention on Kevin the shock that crossed his face was epic as the blow came from the one person he didn't expect. Edd was shaking his hand from the sting of the blow shock upon his face at what he had done.

"Let's go Kevin." Kevin pushes the still stunned jock out of Edd's way and they get into the car and drive off to the slurs the jock was throwing at them.

Arriving home Kevin puts away his new clothes while Edd got some ice for his hand. When asked by his father and mother what had happened he gives a short explanation. "I had to take care of business."

Heading up stairs to see if Kevin needed any help finding the red head taking off tags and putting the shirts on hangers. Seeing Edd in the door he hangs the shirt he had in the closet and speaks. "Damn dork I am impressed I didn't think you had it in you."

"I normal abhor violence Kevin, but that asshole had it coming." Edd sighed the weight at what he had done coming to him now. "I just hope he doesn't come back in force." They spent the rest of the night trying to forget the jerk and his words. The next day retribution was dealt out and Edd took it with pride in the knowledge that he had stood up to them for once. The following week Edd did his best to talk to his friends about trying to include Kevin in their circle.

Eddy was being the most stubborn about it saying. "Sorry D I just can't forgive him so easily and if I was you I would keep him at arm's length and stop being so damn nice." He also didn't like the fact that Edd was spending so much time with him after school.

"Eddy he has pretty much lost everyone and I can't stand the thought of him being alone because of people's ignorance." Ed on the other hand was slowly coming around to the idea of giving Kevin a chance, probably due to Angelica's influence more than Edd's. Throughout the remainder of the week Edd had noticed Nazz had started distancing herself from Kevin, having short conversations then walking off, she appeared to be avoiding his phone calls as well. Edd's suspicions were confirmed in the middle of the following week, it was during lunch that Kevin goes to sit with her and her boyfriend only to get up a few moments later to walk off to sit by himself, receiving a hateful glare from Nazz's boyfriend and an apologetic look from Nazz. Double D being the kind of person he was stands. "I'm going to go ask him to come sit with us."

Eddy protested. "Double D no don…." He was interrupted by a smack to the head by Angelica followed by one from Ed.

Edd walked over to where Kevin was sitting and as he neared he could feel a few eyes on him as though they were expecting a show. _"Come on people you got to see us kiss one time now you expect us to do it every time we're together."_ Edd thought to himself. Kevin never looks up, it was though he was lost in thought, Edd sits down on the other side of the table from him, Kevin looks up seeing Edd he immediately get up and leaves abandoning his lunch and exiting the cafeteria. Edd quickly follows after him probably earning a rumor about a lovers spat in the foreseeable future. Kevin enters the closest restroom and locks himself in a stall, Edd knocks upon the door. "Kevin?" He says meekly.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE DORK!" Kevin says louder then he truly intended to in a raspy voice that seemed to be fighting his emotions.

"I'm sorry Kevin I'll jus…" Edd was just trying to help he didn't mean to be a bother to him or cause him problems.

"I'm sorry Edd, I know your just being kind." Kevin opens the door, he was sitting on the toilet a single tear rolling down his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Edd said leaning a little on the stall door.

"Not really." Was Kevin's reply, Edd was about to go into several reasons why it would make him feel better but never got the chance. "You know I thought she was my friend that I meant more to her then reputation or how popular I was. I thought she respected me and cared for me and wouldn't let others opinions make up her mind on how she felt about me." Another tear falls down his face. "Why did it have to turn out this way? I knew I would lose some friends I just didn't think I'd lose them all." A bitterness swept across his face at the thought.

Edd steps forward, ignoring the filthiness of the bathroom floor he bends down on one knee taking one of Kevin's hands in his left and brushing away the tears with his right. "I'll be here for you, I'm not going anywhere as long as you'll have me here." Kevin meekly smiled at Edd's words, Edd brings him in for a hug that Kevin was glad to except. "Just know it gets better Kevin, right now you're dealing with the fall out and it's rough I know, just don't give up hope." Kevin takes a deep breath enjoying the comfort that Edd's arms gave him at the moment, but with that came the guilt that he ever used this kind soul for his own meaningless desires. Edd manages to finally calm Kevin down enough that they can exit the bathroom, he brings him over to sit the remainder of their lunch period with his friends. Angelica was happy that Edd was taking the lead in helping Kevin, secretly hoping for them to ride off into the sunset together. Ed at this moment tolerated his presents but put up a kind front for Double D's sake, Eddy on the other hand was not very happy with the situation and had no problem showing it.

The rest of the month Edd would bring Kevin around his friends, mainly when Eddy wasn't around, so they could become better acquainted with one another in hopes that they could see that Kevin was a good person and not only the bully they had known. This did cause a rift between Edd and Eddy, one neither boy wished for but unfortunately had caused. It was during one of their visits to Ed's basement while Kevin was there that Eddy showed up. His face was happy when he saw Double D up in the kitchen getting drinks, helping him carry them down to the basement his mood quickly changed upon catching sight of Kevin. "What the hell is he doing here?" Angelica, Ed and Double D instantly admonishing him for his harsh words in their own ways.

"I invited him to join us, if that's what you're asking Eddy." Double D said with an angry look at Eddy.

"Yeah Eddy get over it already." Ed said as he began to pull out his box of tricks hoping a joint would lighten the mood Eddy had caused.

"Double D I don't get you man, have you totally forgotten what this asshole did to you?" Eddy said gesturing to Kevin.

"Yes Eddy I have forgiven him, fear makes us do stupid things." Edd said taking his seat on the couch between Kevin and Angelica.

"Look skipper, I'm sorry for what I did, I know just saying that can never undo it. I can only hope that my actions from here on out will let you know that I mean it." Kevin said the remorse for that night still evident in his eyes.

"You know what shovelchin why don't you shove that apology up your ass." Eddy was fuming, turning to Double D. "Double D, it's all good to be forgiving, but this prick has bullied you for years and you're just going to let it all go that easily?"

"Yes Eddy I am, it's unhealthy to hold such resentment." Double D was getting irritated at his friend.

The look on Angelica's face told them all that she was not happy about what Eddy was doing as well, Ed trying to keep the peace chimes in. "Eddy what does it really matter to you, D has moved past it, why can't you."

"Because he's a fucking asshole Ed." Eddy's expression could only be described as pleading, hoping his friends would just see what he already knew. "He takes up all your time D, I never get to see you anymore, it's like the only time you're not around him is at school and that's only if you don't have the same class." Eddy turns to Kevin. "And why don't you get it through your head he isn't interested in you anymore. Get over it already.

"Eddy that's enough." Double D was pissed now. "So this is a jealousy thing?" Double D says flustered, Kevin stands up, Edd looks at him curiously then continued. "You're an asshole as well Eddy so by your logic I shouldn't be hanging out with you either." Kevin heads toward Eddy and the stairs, Double D was afraid for a moment that he might cause trouble, but they were quickly put to rest when he walks past Eddy.

Kevin turns and looks at Double D."I should probably get going, I don't want to cause trouble." He address's Ed. "Thanks for having me man."

Ed nodded in his direction and said quietly "Sure, anytime."

"I can drive you home." Edd said, something inside him didn't want Kevin to leave like this.

"Naw, I'll be fine, spend time with your friends." Kevin responded coolly, but Double D could hear the subtle hurt hidden there. Kevin turns and walks up the stairs and heads out the door.

"You know Eddy you can be a fucking jerk." Double D said crossing his arms leaning back in the couch, Angelica seemed a little worried about the situation as well, she knew that Kevin was in a hard place in his life and didn't want him to be alone either, not till he could truly find his footing. The rest of the time Double D barely spoke to Eddy, concern for Kevin in the back of his mind finally making up an excuse about homework he leaves for the evening going back to his house. Going up the stairs he finds Kevin's door closed he walks up to it and knocks gently upon it. "Kevin are you there." He hears the rustling of the covers on the bed and the noise the frame made as weight adjusted but no response from Kevin. "I can hear you Kevin, can I come in."

Kevin responds barely audible "Sure." Edd opens the door to see Kevin sitting on top of the new blue quilted comforter. The room had gone through a few changes the stuffed animals had been removed and replaced with some knickknacks that Kevin liked for decoration. Edd's family was slowly trying to make Kevin feel at home there, not sure how long or if ever Kevin's family would stop this course of action toward their son.

Edd steps in and closes the door behind him, he walks over to the desk chair sitting across from the bed and takes a seat facing Kevin. "I'm sorry about Eddy he can be brash at the best of times, and an asshole at the worst."

"It's fine man." Kevin lied, as Edd was looking in Kevin's direction he sees a handle poking out from under the red heads pillow.

Not wanting to be nosy, but concerned at the same time Edd quickly reaches for it, Kevin try's for it at the same time but Edd gets to it first. Looking at the item in his hands he discovers it to be a box cutter, shocked at the course of action that Kevin was apparently deciding to take Edd looks at him mortified. "What the fuck Kevin?"

"I wasn't going to do anything." Kevin looked ashamed at being discovered.

"But you were thinking it weren't you?" Edd puts the box cutter in his pocket to dispose of it later.

"So what if I was. I have no place in this world now." Kevin's face was contorted in pain. "If I hadn't fallen for you I would still have my family, I would still have my friends, I would still be playing football. Now I have nothing and no one."

Edd's heart breaks for him. "You have me and the other Ed's and Angelica likes you." Edd turns in the chair and puts his elbows on the desk cupping his face in his hands hiding his eyes afraid to let Kevin see his face for fear that tears would fall any second.

"You heard Eddy, he's not one of my biggest fans. And Ed only tolerates me because of you, I can feel it." Kevin's voice at this point was breaking a little he was doing his best to hide it. Edd removes his hands from his eyes and sees a piece of paper with his name on it upon the desk. Opening it he finds a quickly drawn up poem.

"The world is despair  
With no view of repair  
My light has gone  
And there is no song  
That I can hear  
Leaving only fear  
Of what they all think  
While I try to blink  
Away the sorrow  
My heart left hallow  
I am sorry my love  
I can't rise above  
This pain I feel  
And my soul heal  
Do not cry for me  
Hear my final plea  
Save your heart  
For a brand new start"

A tear falls from Edd's eye and lands upon the paper. "Kevin please don't do anything stupid." Edd's voice hitches as he tries to hold back the tears. "I was once where you are, I thought the world was crashing around me because of who I am. It took the love Ed showed me to make me realize that I was making a mistake."

"I just don't see any love in my life right now, everyone is leaving me." Edd turns and sees Kevin's tear covered face.

"I love you Kevin, and I don't know what I would do if I lost you now." Another tear comes down Edd's face. "Just promise me you won't give up on me."

"I promise D, I won't leave you." Edd stands up and walks over to Kevin and plants a gentle kiss upon his lips. They sat there and talked until supper was ready. That night Edd slept in Kevin's bed and many nights after making sure the red head knew that he was loved.


	24. Cosplay

Chapter 24- 11th grade Cosplay

 **A/N- Sorry it took longer than usual for me to update. Not sure if I want to go all fluffy for awhile or throw some drama in there. Probably will have some drama what kind I'm not sure yet. Warnings- Language and homophobic language.**

Over the next couple of weeks either Edd or Kevin would sneak into the others room at night. Being in his parents' house Edd didn't want to disrespect them so he had told Kevin early on that any sexual contact was out of the question. To Edd's surprise Kevin agreed quickly. "I understand Edd, I don't want to disrespect your parents either ok. They have been too good to me, more then I deserve considering how I treated you." Kevin said placing a chaste kiss upon Edd's lips. "I feel guilty enough just sneaking you in here."

They would lay there and talk like they use to over the phone. Sometimes about their plans for the future, Kevin had hoped to get a scholarship through football and spend the first year of college figuring out what he wanted to do leaning toward architecture. But now without football or parents to help he figured he would go get a trade skill like welding. Edd wanted to become an astronomer ever since he was little, but would probably have to settle for something more practical like nursing. Since his parents were not that well off and he didn't see any hope for a scholarship with the way his GPA had been slipping as of late, community college was probably the only place he could get into. Now that Kevin was out of the pressures of popularity he was able to open up more to Edd, the other topics they discussed ranged from movies, to comic books they enjoyed. Edd was to discover that they both had a lot of similar interests a lot of which would not be considered normal interests for the a-list crowd at school. "So Mr. Barr under that cool football jock exterior, beats the heart of a dork."

"Yeah you caught me." Kevin whispered with a light chuckle as he tightened his hold upon Edd as they lay cuddling in his bed. "So dork I know we haven't officially said it, but does all this mean we're dating." Kevin's voice lacked its usual confidence. Something Edd had noticed recently, Kevin appeared to be able to show his sensitive side more easily when he was alone with Edd.

"Now Mr. Barr what kind of lady do you take me for?" Edd replies with a snicker. "I don't just lie in any man's bed."

Kevin reaches down Edd's side and tickles him as he leans in and says. "You're so weird." Making a little more noise come out of Edd then either had intended.

Getting the giggles to subside so he could speak, Edd smiles at Kevin. "Maybe just a little but you love it." Placing a few gentle kisses on Kevin's lips he then nuzzles his face in Kevin's chest and falls asleep listening to the sound of his heart. A few hours later he wakes to the sound of the alarm he had set so he could get up before his parents and return to his room and sleep in his bed for an hour to mess it up as to not arouse suspicions.

Easing out of bed Kevin stirs and grabs his hand gently. "Hey you."

"I got to go." Edd says squeezing Kevin's hand then releasing it he quietly exits the room. Going across the hall and opening the door to his room he found his mother sitting on his well made bed. A groan escapes his lips and he whispers. "Busted."

"You're damn straight mister you are so busted." His mother didn't look very happy at that moment.

"I can explain mother." Edd says trying to calm the storm that was his mother's furry at this moment.

"It had better be a damn good one." She says crossing her arms and waiting for her son to begin. Edd reluctantly told her about Kevin's attempt a few weeks ago.

"So we haven't been doing anything inappropriate mother, just talking, in a small way I've been comforting him." Edd saying this part a little sheepishly pretty sure she wasn't going to buy it.

"Now is not the time for the Florence Nightingale effect Edd." His mother sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "Look I know he is very charming, but who's to say this will last once he moves out. He might be having a case of transference, and once he's gone he might move on." Seeing the look in his eyes she adds. "And I could be absolutely wrong and you two might live happily ever after, I just don't want you getting your hopes up." Standing she heads toward the door, as she passed him she puts her hand on his shoulder and looks him in the eye when he faces her. "And enough with the night rounds ok." Edd nods his head signally his understanding. Putting her house back in order she returns to bed for a few more hours before her busy day begins. Edd climbs into his bed and imagines how red Kevin's face is going to be the next time he sees his mother once he tells him that she knows.

The next week after that Kevin could hardly look at Leslie without a blush upon his face. In the mean time they continued with their usual routine but after school Edd would drive Kevin around trying to get him a job, the first step in the process to get him his emancipation from his parents. The evidence had been complied, his current living address, the recording of his father on the answering machine. All he had to do now was get a job and continue his education to help satisfy the court before they filled. They also had the lawyer ready to slap a restraining order on his father once the emancipation went through. By the end of the week Kevin had a job cashiering at the Dollar General at night after school, it didn't last long for once his father caught word of where he was working he came in rather drunk causing a scene. When asked to leave by the manager he would just yell at the man. "I'm his fucking father and I want to have a word with my faggot son." Causing Kevin a lot of embarrassment and a few looks from the other customers, he quit after the cops escorted his father off the property knowing the man would just be back another time. After another attempt to get employment was also ruined by Kevin's father, Edd's family decided to move forward with the emancipation process and just inform the judge of the situation that has been going on with his employment and their plans for a restraining order in hopes the judge would look kindly upon the circumstance. On the day of the court hearing neither one of Kevin's parents showed up just leaving it for their lawyer to take care of, seeing that the parents didn't care enough to come and fight for their son the judge not only grant the emancipation but after hearing of Kevin's treatment at the hands of his father signed the restraining order in one sitting.

To celebrate the victory Edd's parents took them out to eat at a local steak restaurant, getting Kevin an application at the same time. Edd's mother asking for the manager as she paid the bill hands the man Kevin's filled out application and speaks to him for a few minutes getting Kevin an interview that instant. The man was easy going and kind, he saw in Kevin a man trying to get back on his feet and with the turnaround places like that have he gave him a part time position to start out as a dish washer. Though it was part time and only minimum wage Kevin was happy to have some income so he could start paying back the kindness Edd's family had shown him, along with saving up some money to put a down payment on a used car. Their plans to get him his independence were slowly coming together, the biggest hurdle had been passed, and Edd and his family were happy they could help him achieve these goals.

The first week of November Kevin, Double D, Edd and Angelica all went to Summerville for a comic convention, Eddy still being stubborn about Kevin declined the invitation to join them. The two couples themed their cosplay, Angelica dressing up as Jean Grey and Ed went as Cyclopes. With a suggestion from Angelica the boys went as a Japanese YAOI couple from one of her favorite pairings the Junjo Egoists. Edd was Hiroki Kamijou and Kevin was Nowaki Kusama. Ed and Angelica drug them around going to several of the booths to see what rare finds they might be able to purchase. Ed got the latest installment of his zombie comic that his local story had yet to stock. Double D found a few X-men comics that were missing from his collection while Kevin got a few Deadpool comics. While looking around the booths a few girls recognized the boy's theme and asked if they could take a few pictures of them together. The boys where happy to and gave them a few angst ridden poses finally the girls asked them to kiss for them. Double D blushing furiously at the idea only brought an air of realism for the characters that sent the girls swooning, Angelica included who was right alongside the other girls taking tons of pictures almost getting a nose bleed from the kiss. Ed only face palmed in the background silently wondering what was so great about that genera of manga that drove girls bat shit crazy. Finally able to break free from the throng of fan girls that had encircled them they made their way to the section where the artists and authors where to see if any of their favorites were there to get an autograph. Ed stood in line for twenty minutes to get the comic book he bought signed by the artist who drew it, while Double D, Kevin and Angelica went to look at a nearby booth of board games. Double D looked through several different games pondering whether a board game night would be a nice change of pace for him and his friends. Coming across a interesting looking one, reading the back it seemed perfect, Horror for Ed, strategy for him, killing monsters for Kevin, and based on H.P Lovecraft's lore for him and Angelica. So with that he purchased Arkham Horror while Angelica having a similar thought about a board game night purchased Betrayal at House on the Hill. Meeting back up with Ed who looked like he could die happy now that he had met the artist of his favorite comic, they all decided to go get something to eat.

Sitting down with their overpriced pizza and nacho's they fed their hungry mouths, Double D was just happy to be off his feet for a few minutes. "So dork, you enjoying the geek fest?" Kevin asks bumping his shoulder into Double D's.

"So asks our freshly minted geek out of the closet." Double D says playfully smiling at Kevin.

"Yeah man, when you kicked that door open you came out with all your flags flying." Ed says between bites of his pizza earning him a look from Double D on the manners of not talking with your mouth full.

"Well I figured why hide any part of me now, might as well let it all hang lose." Kevin said also with food still in his mouth. Double D only sighed at the fact he was surrounded by cavemen.

"I'm glad you finally can Kevin, it's good to be true to yourself in all things." Angelica said then taking a drink of the soda her and Ed were sharing.

"But to answer your original question Kevin I am having a wonderful time. I'm glad you suggested it, I have never been to one of these before." Double D had always wanted to go to a comic convention but his parents where always working whenever one was in town. But now that he had his own car and money these things can now be done without the reliance of parents. The remainder of their time was spent standing in a line for a panel for about an hour before they gave up on it, Ed was looking forward to that panel as it was previewing a movie he was interested in. They went over to a check out a few more booths that had figurines and other collectables in them before calling it a day starting their hour long trip back to Peach creek. Ed and Angelica was in the backseat with her head in Ed's lap, while Kevin drove and Double D rested his head on his shoulder. They arrived home after dropping Ed and Angelica off at about ten at night, they entered the house to be greeted by Edd's mother calling down the stairs to them, informing them that dinner was in the fridge. Both boys went to sleep that night in their separate beds happy that not only had they had a good day with each other but in Edd's case that two of his friends where excepting Kevin, and in Kevin's case that he had two more people in his corner.


	25. Liberi Fatali

Chapter 25- 11th grade Liberi Fatali

 **A/N- For those that probably think I went to fast with the reconciliation I would like to point to the Florence Nightingale Effect and Transference, the first is when a nurse falls in love with a patient and the second is when a patient falls in love with a nurse and usually only lasts as long as they are in the care giving situation then leaves once out of that situation. Just words to chew on are my horns showing yet :)** **. Liberi Fatali is Latin for Children of Fate or Fate stupid Google translator. Warnings- Language and Drug use.**

Edd had noticed that Eddy had been avoiding hanging out with him and his friends if Kevin was around. Whenever he would call him to see if he they could get together Eddy wouldn't even hide the fact that he was doing so because he would ask if Kevin would be there and if the answer was yes he would decline. After the continued avoidance Edd had enough of this attitude and called him out on it. "Eddy I get why your upset with Kevin I do, but can you not even find it in your heart to give him a chance to prove that he has changed?" Edd said holding the phone in-between his shoulder and ear as he put the dishes from Dinner away, Kevin was at work at this time.

"No man I can't, and I keep telling you that if I was you I wouldn't have forgiven him so easily." Eddy replied the frustration clear in his voice. "I don't trust him, I just get this feeling that he is hiding something and I'm going to find out what it is."

"Eddy if you go looking for dirt all you have to do is look down and you will find it." Edd was trying to be philosophical on his friend and make him think a little, an effort he should have known by now was not always going to work.

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Eddy practically yelled in the phone making Edd almost drop it on the floor.

"I just mean with the way the rumors fly around school you shouldn't have a problem finding whatever damning evidence you want on him. Now whether it's true or not is a different matter." Edd having enough of his friends irritating attitude about this subject hung up on him. Continuing to finish his chore he worried what Eddy would find and how he would try and use it against Kevin, and whether or not what he found would be true or not. The rest of the week Edd continued to try and mend the fences between Eddy and Kevin with little headway being made on Eddy's end, Kevin was indifferent about it if Eddy didn't want anything to do with him it was no skin off his teeth. On another note Kevin had become more adapt at avoiding trouble at school, with his emancipation came the fact that he would be viewed as an adult in the laws eyes, so fighting was now out of the question. He had half a mind to go ahead and get his GED and be done with school that would mean more time could be spent at his job which meant he could get his own place. Don't get it wrong he was grateful for their kindness he had been shown but he just knew he would eventually wear out his welcome and he wanted to stay in good graces with this family. Not only was it because he wanted to continue pursuing a relationship with Edd, but he also wanted the family as a whole to remain in his life.

That weekend Edd and Kevin both had Saturday off work and made plans to hang with Ed and Angelica again that day. Honestly the four of them had started to become inseparable, Double D was happy that Ed had come to accepted Kevin and was actually trying to be his friend, the trip to the convention the previous weekend had cemented the beginnings of their friendship. Even with that Ed had made sure to privately let Kevin know what would happen if he ever hurt D again. Kevin assured him that it would never come to that again. While at Ed's that day they tried out the board games Double D and Angelica had purchased at the convention, trying Angelica's first. At the beginning or the second phase of the game Kevin was the betrayer turning into a zombie with a zombie horde at his disposal he slowly killed each of them off one at a time seeing how they had miscalculated the game and split up to explore the house in the first phase of the game. Next they tried Double D's game, they were not prepared for the length this one would take, set up alone was twenty minutes. After choosing their characters and getting their beginning items they pulled the Elder God card and got Cthuluh. "Damn it D what have you gotten us into with this game." Ed said as they prepared to make their first move and he loaded his pipe.

"Oh come one Ed it's going to be fun." Plans were made and quickly fell apart as the three boys got high, Angelica doing her best to keep them on track. Four hours later Cthuluh kicked their asses after waking from his slumber and devouring them whole.

To say the weed helped in with this outcome was an understatement, making Angelica enact a new rule of moderation while playing board games. "I'm not going to carry you all, either help or don't play." She said with a pout.

Ed brings her in for a side hug from his chair and a kiss to the temple. "Ah baby I'm sorry we were just having fun." Earning him a side glance that told him not to let it happen again, they were to quickly learn that Angelica loved to win, but who doesn't really, and even though they didn't win she had to admit the banter between them had been a fun experience. After neatly putting all seven hundred pieces of the game back in the box Double D calls his parents and lets them know that they would be staying at Ed's that night. Getting the usual parental words of be careful and have fun from his mother he ended the call to turn around to head back down to the basement only to find his friends coming out of the door. Kevin handed him his coat while Ed spoke. "We're taking a little road trip."

"Were to?" Double D said as he slowly put on the coat.

Kevin put his arm around Double D and started to lead him toward the front door. "We're going to go get the new superhero movie that just came out and a few snacks."

"Then back here to smoke and veg out." Ed closed the front door behind them and locked it. They all climbed into Double D's car with Angelica driving they headed up to Wal-Mart, Kevin and Double D in the back seat. Kevin was trying to be affectionate with the dork but Double D being a little embarrassed was trying to ward off the attacks from Kevin's lips by leaning into his shoulder and holding the red heads hand hoping that it would satisfy him for now. Kevin understood that Double D was shy and accepted he wouldn't be kissing him in front of his friends much, but damn it if he wasn't going to try and get the dork to open up a little. Once in the parking lot the boys made a mad dash for the door making a game out of their visit, each one horse playing as they entered the building trying to claim one of the scooters they hoped would be a little faster than the other. They started to race around the store in a circular fashion through the main aisles that went round the center area. Being ten o'clock at night there were very few customers in the store, but their swerving in and out of displays had none the less drawn the attention of the manager.

Standing in the middle of the aisle they were headed down she crossed her arms and waited for Double D to stop. "Boy's we would appreciate it if you could leave those carts up front for a customer that need them." Double D hangs his head a little and turns his cart around, Kevin was about to say something but Double D shot him a look that made the red head close his mouth quickly. After returning the carts upfront they headed to the electronics section of the store where they met up with Angelica who was casually looking through the movies.

Once she caught sight of the three cart less boys she shook her head and said "Busted." She had witnessed the whole encounter from far behind the trouble making trio. Having found the movie they were after plus another B grade horror movie to add to Ed's collection they found an empty cart close by and threw Double D into the basket along with the movies and headed toward the snack aisles. Kevin was pushing the cart, kicking it along like he was on a skateboard, one foot on the bar underneath hands on the handle and the free foot propelling them forward. Once at the snacks Ed and Kevin started looking for the junk food they wanted, Ed playfully throwing a bag of chips into the cart hitting Double D in the face.

"Ed that is so uncalled for." Double D said as he pushed the bag into his lap. Angelica now pushing the cart forward to keep up with the two hooligans she called friend and boyfriend, laughing at their antics. Once again the manager was at the end of the aisle looking in their direction Double D knowing what was coming just gets out of the cart with Kevin's help, satisfied that the accident waiting to happen had been averted the lady walks off to continue with more important matters of business. Having been thwarted twice now the boys calm down and head toward the front of the store to make their purchases, as they were leaving the manager was yet again at the door and as they exited she simply looked at them and said. "You all have a nice night now." Once outside they laughed at the knowledge that she was happy they were gone. Once back at Ed's it was close to eleven o'clock, they brought their snacks down to the basement along with a few cups for their drinks, Ed quickly put the movie in and hit play. With two couples and not much seating to allow both to cuddle Ed decided to take the recliner and have Angelica sit in his lap, seeing how she was smaller and lighter it was easier for them to do this then for Kevin and Double D. Kevin sat on the end of the couch while Double D nestled under his arm with his head upon his shoulder, though D was looking forward to the movie he found himself quickly falling asleep eventually soft snoring was heard from him, Kevin softly laughed when he looked down to see the passed out dork on his shoulder. When the movie was done he gently woke Double D up, Ed having a little foresight had asked his mother for a new couch this one with a hideaway bed in it he would be damned if he was going to be kicked out of his bed again if his horny friends needed a place to stay to make out at.

Putting D down in the recliner he helped Ed move the coffee table and bring out the bed, putting the sheet blanket and pillows on it Kevin then picks up the snoring Double D and puts him on the bed waking the boy up in the process. "D you need to get ready for bed." Kevin says softly, Double D nodes and stands up and heads to a dresser to retrieve two sets of pajama's and starts taking off his shirt.

"Edd there's a lady here." Angelica playfully acts innocent.

In his groggy state Double D had forgotten that she was here. "Oh I'm sorry he says and heads up stairs to the restroom to change followed by Kevin. They brush their teeth for the night then Kevin helps him out of his shirt, once off Kevin couldn't help himself and plants a passionate kiss upon his dorks lips. Edd's sleep melts away with the contact and he dives into the kiss returning the affection given to him by the red head. Their lips move in time with each other the continued exchange making both boys heart beat faster. In the spirit of continuing to get ready for bed, at least that's what he told himself, Edd pulls Kevin's shirt up and over his head depositing it upon the floor. Reaching up Edd caresses Kevin's toned chest with the palm of his hand enjoying the feel of the tight muscles as they contract when Kevin's hands moved up and down his back. Reaching around to the front of Edd's jeans with his right hand Kevin undoes the button and slides the zipper down allowing gravity to pull the pants down to the ground for him, he then grips Edd's erection in his hand through the boy's boxers. Kevin was impressed with the package he was holding he didn't expect the dork to be packing this much meat. Being a little eager plus knowing this would be the only time they would be in private tonight Kevin gets on his knees and puts his hands in the waist band of Edd's boxers. "Kevin we shouldn't do this here." Edd whispers as he grabs Kevin's hands.

"Please Edd, I have wanted to do this for a very long time." It has been just a little over a year since that fateful night at Katie's house when Kevin had first asked Edd if he could do this.

Edd looked nervous, fears resurfacing, memories of the time he sucked Kevin off to be instantly left wondering what he did wrong, all making him doubt if he could go through with this and if Kevin would still be here once it was over. He came up with a lame excuse. "I might be too loud and wake his parents." A nervous chuckle came out after his obvious lie.

Sensing Edd wasn't being totally honest with him Kevin stands and looks him in the eye. "I know you have every right to be afraid Edd, but I swear to you I am not the same person I was a year ago." These words cut Edd a little because Kevin had seen right through him.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know if I can handle another person leaving me." Edd said looking down and away from Kevin's eyes.

Kevin cups Edd's check and guilds his face to look back at him, meeting Kevin's sincere green eyes. "I'm not going to leave you Edd." He kisses Edd once again hoping Edd could feel his sincerity through the kiss. "As long as you'll have me I'll be here."

Edd kiss him and softly speaks. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to ruin the mood." He put his forehead against Kevin's.

"It's not important, you trusting me is, and if I have to suffer blue balls a few times to earn that trust it's a price I am willing to pay." He said taking in a breath and Edd's scent, then nuzzling their noses together as he positioned his lips so kiss Edd again. "We should really get downstairs again before Angelica comes up here hoping to sneak a peak of man love." He says wiggling his brow at the last part. Edd smiled and agreed they both put on the pajama's Edd had brought up, then gathered their clothes and headed back downstairs.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs Angelica sat up in Ed's bed with the sheet covering her bosom, clearly she was ready for the lights to be out, no sign of straps were to be seen on her shoulders. "You two were gone an awful long time." Edd's checks reddened at the insinuation.

"Not long enough." Ed said in return.

"Sorry man didn't mean to interrupt." Kevin said as he slid into the bed followed by Double D, he reaches over and turns out the light next to couch.

"Just do me a favor and don't break that bed, I don't want to have to listen to my mother bitch." Ed said making Double D hide his face in the covers Kevin pulls him in to sooth his embarrassment. While in Kevin's arms Edd came to a conclusion that he needed to take a chance, if he kept hiding behind his fears as an excuse he would certainly drive the red head away. For without trust your relationship is doomed before it begins. He comes out of hiding from under the covers and the comfort of Kevin's chest to reach up and grab the back of the red heads neck and pull him into a searing kiss. Instantly parting his lips and Kevin following suit their tongues met in an epic battle for dominance, Edd grabs Kevin's ass bringing their hips together to grind and rut against each other. Both of their man hoods coming to life quickly with the friction, they slide and rubbed alongside one another. Having enough of the foreplay Edd repositions himself so his hips were up by Kevin's head and his face by Kevin's cock. Kevin slides further down the bed to make this position more comfortable for the horny dork, he reaches up and pulls down the front of Edd's pajamas exposing the erect piece of meat inside for his pleasure. Doing the same Edd wraps his hand around the base of Kevin's dick, swallows it whole, the sensation fanning the flames of his desire Kevin reciprocates the action and greedily takes Edd in his mouth and with his other hand squeezes Edd's ass relishing it when the muscles would tighten when he slide down to the base of his cock. Once Kevin was all the way down Edd's free hand went down to entangle his fingers in Kevin's hair as he rutted his hips to slid his cock in and out of the back of the jocks throat. As he did this and continued his ministrations upon Kevin's cock he noticed that the jocks cock was pulsing with excitement. Edd's boldness had turned Kevin on in a whole new level that he had yet to experience in his short life. He wanted to take his dork right there in every conceivable position possible and make him scream his name, not caring that there were two other people in the room. But knowing Edd would be too embarrassed and that Angelica would probably fan girl over it he decided it was best not to pursue it. Instead he relinquished his grip on the boys cock and brought his finger to his mouth, sucking on it he lubed it up with a good amount of saliva and brought it to Edd's hole. Doing this a few times to ensure there was a good amount of lubricant he then took Edd's cock back in his mouth and slides his finger inside of Edd. Exploring the entrance Kevin found what he was looking for, a small lump like gland positioned right behind Edd's penis. Applying a light pressure to it and rubbing it in a small circular motion he made the boy cock jump and a sliver of pre cum ooze from the tip of his head while a moan escaped Edd's throat vibrating against the head of Kevin's cock bringing a new sensation into the mix for Kevin. At this point they were feeding of each other's pleasure, the more they received the more they wanted to give in return. Ending in a crescendo of moans and gasps where the sounds were only muffled due to the fact that their mouths were full. Both boys swallowing what the other had to offer greedily as they felt like they were floating on cloud nine. Spent and exhausted they took their original positions in bed, Edd tucked under Kevin's right arm with his head laying on his chest listing to his breathing and heart beat as they both basked in the afterglow. Kevin kissed the top of Edd's head and squeezed him gently with his right arm. "Goodnight babe." And they both drifted off to sleep. Waking up later than normal the next day Edd found himself alone in Ed's room all three of his friends were gone. A slight panic tightening his chest a little as he got out of bed and headed upstairs to find all of them including Kevin in the kitchen eating cereal.

"Good morning babe." Kevin said after swallowing. "Did you sleep ok?"

"I'm sure he did." Angelica giggled with that sly look in her eye. Edd again went red in the face, were we that loud was the only thought in his mind.

Seeing his friend's embarrassment Ed comes to his rescue. "Don't worry D she woke up with sex hair this morning." Earning him a slap to the arm, after finishing breakfast both Kevin and Edd went home and got ready for their day both boys having to work that night.

That Monday a certain blonde met with a frustrated Eddy and whether secrets, lies or half truths were told into his mistrusting ears one would be hard pressed to discover which was which.


	26. A Knife to the Heart

Chapter 26- 11th grade A Knife to the Heart

 **A/N- This one's going to be Nazz's side of things so it might be a little short. Warnings: Language, homophobia. Nat belongs to C2ndy2c1d.**

Nazz really did like Kevin, she did, they were besties I mean come on she dated him knowing full well that he wasn't as into her as he was the nerd he kept looking at. Who else but your best friend would cover your ass like that? And when said nerd looked back she really didn't care she understood deep down the heart wants what the heart wants. But when it started becoming obvious to the world that's when she took action and taught the little dweeb a lesson, you don't threaten royalty's position. Everything was fine, everything was roses after that she even caught wind that the dweeb had tried to end it that would have made clean up easier on her part. An unrequited love turned tragic would have been easy to spin since she had started the rumors about Edd and his sexuality. But her plans for their positions as the power couple fell through when Kevin broke up with her over the dork _. "Really you choose him over me."_ She thought to herself and waited patiently watching and waiting, she was kind of ecstatic when she saw Kevin beat the shit out of the dork for what Katie had said. She just knew that it would dispel any doubts about his masculinity or ability to be the new quarter back and captain for the football team. Then maybe she could ditch this pompous ass she choose for his status and looks, and resume her rightful place by Kevin's side, who cares that he was into dudes, it's all about image anyways and she was dead set on that image being upheld.

She noticed after his altercation with the dork that Kevin seemed distraught, she tries to get back together with him suggesting it several times but Kevin wouldn't hear of it. His irrational behavior only increased casing fight after fight with that teal haired boy the dork was dating, Nat she believed his name was. She waited patiently for it all to blow over but it never seemed to, it had been a year for Christ's sake when was Kevin going to get over that dork. In an attempt to ease Kevin's emotional turmoil she seeks him out finding him one day after school in the library of all places. He was sitting at a table writing something, she walks to where he was sitting and looks over his shoulder hoping to sneak a peek at what he was writing. It looked to be some poem, but she didn't get a very good look at it for when he noticed her he turned it over. All she saw was the dorks name at the top. Sitting down across from him she places her hand on top the one holding down the paper he had turned over. "You doing alright dude?"

Kevin looks up at her with sad eyes. "Yeah I'm fine." He says trying to hide his vulnerability.

She cocks her head to the side. "You're lying to me." Kevin drops his eyes down to where her hand was resting upon his as thought any moment her touch would start to hurt him. She lowers her head to try and recapture his eyes "Is this about that dork again?"

Kevin tenses up looking her in the eye again, retracting his hand from hers bringing the piece of paper with him. "Why would you think that?"

Nazz leans back in the chair putting her hands in her lap. "Dude I know, I'm not blind. I've been well aware of your interests in the dork for a while, I've been doing damage control for you for the better part of a year."

Kevin lets out a sigh. "Has it been that obvious to everyone?"

"Not everyone, some have their suspicions but the vast majority just think the reason you've been picking fights with Nat is because you're really homophobic." She looks around to make sure there was no one in ear shot then leans forward. "You don't have to hide from me dude, I'm here for you."

Kevin let out a sigh of relief, this was the second person to voice their support for him today. "Cool, I'm going to need friends like you soon."

"What do you mean?" She furrows her brow knowing what he was about to say but praying it wasn't.

Kevin leans in even closer and whispers. "Well I just got done talking to Edd's friend, you know the girl Angelica. She pretty much told me that Edd probably won't have anything to do with me if I stay in the closet." He mouthed the last word not really saying it out loud in case someone could hear them.

"You can't do that it would mean social suicide." She said louder than she wanted to, taking in a breath she continues back at a whisper. "I don't know why you just didn't hit it and quit it in the first place. It would have made your life so much easier."

"I tried that Nazz, didn't work out to well, I kept thinking about him and before I knew it he was all I could think about." Kevin sighs and rubs the back of his neck.

She reaches over and takes his hand again. "Aw my poor Kev has got it bad, well I am sure we can think of something. You don't have to come out and ruin your reputation, we could start dating again and you two could just keep it a secret." Kevin removes his hand from hers once more. "No one needs to know about you." She says a little concerned with his withdraw from her touch.

"I'm sorry Nazz I know you mean well, but I'm done hiding it didn't work to well the first time and I don't want to make that mistake again." Kevin gather's his things and stands up pushing the chair back under the table. "At this point I don't even know if he will talk to me even if I do it."

"Then why risk it?" She pleaded with him to be reasonable about this, her hopes for the quarterback status symbol flying out the window with every word spoken.

"Because sometimes you just have to take a chance Nazz." He leaves her sitting at the table, she was not happy one bit yet again she is pushed aside for this nerd. _"What does the fucking dork have that I don't, besides a penis that is?"_ If this was a cartoon steam would be billowing from her ears. But she was patient she waited she watched and she listened, and for a whole week nothing not a sound about Kevin coming out. So her hopes had gotten a little high that Kevin might have seen the light and would be taking her up on the generous offer she had given him, only to have those hopes dashed upon the rocks of reality. She was headed to the cafeteria with her boyfriend in tow as they rounded a corner her eyes went wide as she saw Kevin with his lips locked to the dweebs.

Her boyfriend grows stiff "fucking gross, faggots." He yells the last part, she sees that Kevin breaks the kiss, and quickly leads her boyfriend away and to the cafeteria. They get their lunch and head to their usual spot at the popular table along the way her boyfriend tells the football team what he had just seen, to find that word had spread quickly for a few of them confirmed it as well.

"Why did you do that? I could have fixed this if you kept your mouth shut." She said to her boyfriend.

"They deserve to know that their captain is a poll puffing fag." Her boyfriend said as he began to eat.

Her thoughts were only on how to spin this how best to turn this to her advantage and get the goal she wanted. She sees the dork enter the room and head to his friends cursing his very existence if it wasn't for him Kevin wouldn't be in this situation. A few minutes later Kevin walks in and heads her direction, she notices the looks the football team was giving him and knew he noticed it to she waves for him to sit with them. "What in the holy fuck were you thinking?"

"Well Nazz I was thinking I was apologizing to him, showing him how I feel about him, and letting the rest of the school know as well all in one move." Kevin said seriously not in the mood for a lecture seeing how Edd hadn't instantly gone weak in the knees over it.

"So how did that work out for you?" Nazz replied in full on bitch mode.

"Not so great." Kevin eyes her living accessory known as her boyfriend who had pretty much been giving him the evil eye since he sat down.

"So you ruined your reputation over nothing." She said exasperated

Kevin swallowed the food he had been eating and replied. "You know what Nazz I really don't care what any of them think. Just do me a favor and keep an eye on Edd for me." There it was again the dork was chosen over her. With that a plan had been hatched, one where you would care mister Barr. After Kevin left she went and sat with the football team and pretty much let them know that it would be in their best interests if they were to educate Kevin on the proper order of things. After that she went through her day like always, getting home rather early she made a phone call to a certain red heads father educating him about the day's events and where his sons heart lay. The following day she did her friendly duty of protecting a certain dork from harm in hopes by this time that Kevin would see that she was the only support he would have. She had discovered that day that Kevin was homeless having been kicked out of his parent's house and now living with the dork, she didn't see that lasting long after what he did to the dweeb. But that outcome was not part of her plan she had thought his father would just set him "straight" and make Kevin see the uselessness of such a relationship.

Seriously this girl is kind of twisted destroying the man's life all because he didn't choose her. Her goal was to tear him down have him come crawling back to her and then repair the damage before it became irreversible. But as time moved on she noticed that he wasn't crawling back and to continue to support him would tarnish her own reputation seeing as now he was no longer the captain of the football team so she cut ties, but in her mind that would only continue the plans forward momentum now that he had no one but the dork to lean on and what kind of help could he really be. Time kept ticking by with no sign of Kevin's return so another faze had to be implemented and to her luck a close friend of the dweeb was looking for some dirt on the former jock and she was going to use every pawn on the board to reach her desired ends. So all she needed to do now was get it so the dork didn't want anything to do with Kevin, then she could swoop in repair his reputation spin a GBF kind of thing and find him someone suiting to what his status should be. For after all she still considered herself his best friend and what else do best friends do but look out for each other. Yeah this girl is twisted.


	27. Dream a Little Dream of Me

Chapter 27- 11th grade Dream a Little Dream of Me

 **A/N- Princess and the Sisterwives belong to dshell99 Sy belongs to Sybrann. Warnings: Language, violence, drug use**

Nazz was looking happy as she walked to her locker today, her plan had been a success. The dork had been removed from sight and Kevin was where he rightfully belong, back in the upper echelon of the schools A-list. Finding Kevin an appropriate boyfriend was an easy thing for Nazz, Tommy fit perfectly for her ideas on what that position should be. Cute and malleable, after he "relapsed" from the pray the gay away camp she hooked the two of them up and became Tommy's beard for his parents sake. "Anything for my GBF." She would tell anyone who asked or didn't, she made it a point for it to be known that Kevin was her gay, like he was some sort of damn accessory. Arriving at her locker she puts in the combination and opens the door, casually putting books in and taking the ones she needed for her next class out as she talked to Kevin and his boy toy.

"Nazz Van Bartonschmeer!" A voice booms down the hallway drawing all eyes in the direction it was cast. The teens in the hall part like the red sea for a group of six stunning ladies as they strut their way toward Nazz and her group. Led by a young lady with coco skin, well kept afro hair wearing a white mid-drift Ralph Lauren dress with black floral patterns upon it carrying a patent leather royal blue coach bag in the crock of her left arm. As the group of ladies approach, Nazz finds herself alone, matter of fact there was no one in the hall to be seen. She closes her locker and turns to face the group that had seamlessly surrounded her, keeping her cool she stands and faces the ominous sextet. To show fear would ruin her reputation and we can't have that now can we.

Looking Nazz in the eye the leader of the group speaks. "For your crimes against the Kevedd, we of the Sisterwives sentence you to death."

Nazz looks puzzled. "Kevedd, what the fuck are you talking about? Who the fuck are you?"

A smile upon her face as she places her right hand casually in her satchel. "I'm Princess bitch." And with a quick fluid motion brings her hand out of the satchel sliding the knife in her hands across Nazz's throat then reversing the direction and plunging it into her neck. Once removed the blood begins to flow and Nazz reaches for the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the flow of blood falling to her knees. Princess just turns around and walks off casually as she cleans the knife with a handkerchief she removed from her coach bag, "Off with her head." She say calmly.

Amber turns and faces Princess. "Can we get subway after?"

Sy looking exasperated rolls her eyes. "Fine, I'll take care of the bitch."

Emily having growing impatient walks over to the wall and grabs the fire axe and stands over Nazz. "Girls I've got shit to do." She bring it up and swiftly down again.

Nazz wakes up sitting straight up in her bed her sheets covered in sweat, still feeling the tingling of the knife strikes upon her skin. "What the fuck was that." Nazz couldn't comprehend if that was just a bit of undigested food or her conscience warning her against fulfilling her plan. She gets up and makes herself a cup of tea to calm her nerves and heads back to bed to try and get some sleep her plans coming to fruition in the morning.

Eddy Skipper Davis was sitting comfortably in the recliner smoking a blunt that Ed and so perfectly prepared. Feeling self righteous, his hard work to uncover Kevin's dirty little secret had paid off and the shovelchined bastard was nowhere to be seen. He was in the company of his friends, Ed and Angelica sitting on the couch Angelica's legs propped over Ed's lap as he passes the blunt to Double D who looked as though he had not a care in the world. Eddy was a little surprised at this he thought the news of Kevin's misdeeds would have sent his friend down the rabbit hole of depression and suicide. The way he was taking it only made Eddy feel more justified in his actions.

A hand caresses the leather back of the recliner as a pair of high heels are heard walking around the chair. A beauty clad in a white and black dress comes walking around to stand in front of Eddy, she slides into his lap as casually as a lover her right arm upon the back of the recliner her left caressing his jaw line. "Hey beautiful." Eddy says wagging his eyebrows at the fair lady in his lap.

Her expression never changing she only looks into his eyes and begins to speak. "You know Skipper this is all but an illusion, your minds attempt to justify your hatred, your hatred to hide your true feelings and jealousy, your jealousy you use to twist and cover up your love even to yourself."

"What are you talking about dame?" Eddy's mind not allowing him to put the puzzle pieces together she had laid out before him.

"Your feelings for him." She points toward Double D and then takes the blunt that Ed had offered bringing it up to her lips and inhales a large hit and blows it in Eddy's face.

Finally buying what she was selling his eyes grow cold. "Your fucking crazy bitch, I'm not gay."

Passing the joint back to Ed she stands. "Love is love my dear and you don't have to be queer to fall for the light in his eyes and it's about time that you realize the game your about to play will not make him stay and fall into your arms without any harm."

Eddy cocks a brow in confusion. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Her face turns from the gentle passive look it had on it to a stern motherly expression. "He's your fucking friend now start acting like it." She brings her right arm up and before Eddy could react she brings it down across his left cheek knocking him out of the chair. Eddy falls to the floor of his room tumbling out of his bed the sting upon his left cheek he plays off as hurting from when landed on the floor, though he landed on his right cheek. He goes to the mirror in his bathroom and checks his reflection, not seeing any lose or missing teeth he turns on the water and washes his face then returns to bed to try and get some more sleep. Nazz wanted to talk to him tomorrow he needed to get to school early.

Kevin was frantic he couldn't find Edd anywhere no matter where he looked Edd couldn't be found. He looked all around school, all he found was the usual pricks. Nazz was looking at him like she wanted something from him, Eddy was scowling at him as though he was sharpening a knife. When he finally ran into Ed and Angelica they had no idea where Double D could be. He continued to search, checking the library a young girl in a white and black dress was sitting on the table in the middle of the room and waved at him as he entered. He had never seen her before but she acted as though they had been long time friends, a look of confusion upon his face he walks over to her. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you. You've been a very naughty boy this time around Mr. Barr." She hops off the table and takes his arm and starts to lead him out of the library and down the hall toward the football field. "So I can understand your fears concerning your position with Edd."

"I'm trying to do right now." Why he was confiding in her as thought they had been long time friends he had no clue but he went with it. "I only want to show Edd how much he means to me." A panic takes him as he now remembers he needs to find Edd. "Do you know where I can find him?"

They continue a slow walk down the hall her arm in his. "I do." They open the door and exit the building continuing to go toward the football field. "You need to stay by him, regardless of what is said in the coming weeks. Don't let what others say influence you, don't let what they say keep you from trying to be with the one you love." They enter the field and hanging from the goal post by a rope around his neck swung Edd. Kevin runs to the body swinging lifeless from the rope tears streaming down his cheeks. "This is one possible outcome if you let others influence you. If you let them destroy what you are trying to build." She places a hand on his shoulder. "Protect him." Kevin wakes and quickly gets out of bed and quietly goes across the hall to check on Edd, he is lying peacefully in his bed asleep. Kevin brushes aside his bangs and plants a kiss upon his forehead, Edd shifts in his sleep turning over. Kevin exits the room and goes back to his bed to try and get some sleep.

Ed was sitting on his couch with Angelica's legs swung over on his lap her arms wrapped around his neck, Double D to her right and Eddy on the recliner. He had just passed the Blunt to Eddy and leans back in the couch exhaling a plume of smoke from his nose. Looking over he sees a beautiful lady in a white and black dress in his lap not Angelica. "Hey there big Ed." She says with a smile upon her face.

"What the fuck." Ed jumps a little reaching up he gently grabs one of the arms around his neck to try and remove it.

"Oh don't worry she's not gone, I just needed to speak to you." She looked at Ed with her big brown eyes fluttering her lashes a little.

Ed was still looking nervous with this stranger in his lap but for some reason unable to do anything about it. "What about?"

"There's a storm brewing and I need you to keep an extra pair of eyes on our little DD." She motions her head toward Double D.

"What kind of storm?" Ed's interest perked with concern over his friend.

"Sorry can't tell you that. Spoilers and all, plus something about the rules of changing events parallel universes colliding big implosions blah blah blah." Ed just looked at her very confused his red eyes for telling his mindset. "Just keep yours and your YAOI girlfriend's eyes on the boy ok. Oh and by the way tell her Princess flailed for her, she'll know what I'm talking about." With that the lady stands up and Angelica is once again on Ed's lap Princess extends her hand so it is in front of Ed's face forefinger to thumb. "Wake up Ed." And she snaps her fingers.

Ed wakes in his bed, Angelica nuzzled in his chest. "Wow, I got to stop smoking before bed."

The following morning a certain back stabbing blonde, who didn't head her warning, and a certain snooping friend, who didn't take the advice given to him, met outside the school in the parking lot by Nazz's car. She hands him a piece of paper "That's everything you're looking for on Kevin."

Eddy opens it and reads through it. "Is that all you got. I doubt this is going to be enough."

"Look Skipper, if they are still on shaky ground like you say they are. Then this should be enough to cause doubt in the dweebs mind to push them apart." She says as she pokes her forefinger in his chest an irritated look in her eyes. "Really you should just be thankful that I decided to help you in the first place." But in truth he was the one helping her, and a pawn must do what the queen says.

 **A/N-Hmm interesting very interesting. Now where to go, Murder, love lose, friendships destroyed, so many choices. Be right back need to get my beanie to hide my horns. Insert evil laughter as I leave the room.**


	28. Everybody Talks

Chapter 28- 11th grade Everybody Talks

 **A/N- That last chapter was rather interesting I know, just something that popped up from a conversation about Nazz and I was like Fuck yeah that sounds good and I rolled with it. And yes I really went evil with that whole vote thing but I hope it was at least fun for you all I know I had fun with it. Now to the reveal and which ending you all got. Nathan belongs to C2ndy2c1d Warnings-Language and homophobic remarks**

Eddy kept the letter Nazz gave him in a safe place in his room, he was mulling over whether or not he should reveal its contents to his friend. His mind kept going over his dream, was it his subconscious telling him something, should he just take things as they are and just support his friend. He kept coming back to how much he didn't like Kevin for what he did to Edd, and if the letter spoke the truth and wasn't a fabricated lie it was more reason to hate the former jock. But Edd seemed to be happy, wasn't that enough reason to let the past be in the past? No Edd deserved better then shovelchin, someone who appreciated him for all that he is, how smart he is, how funny he is, and how talented he is. How those blue eyes would shine when he discovered something new and interesting, and that smile that would brighten up his face. Eddy shakes these thoughts from his mind, could it be just like the lady said, could he really be in love with Double D? Is this what's driving him to ruin Kevin? Eddy had to know, he had to be sure that it wasn't something as petty as jealousy motivating him.

While Eddy had his moments of doubt Nazz was busy on her end making sure that the wheels of doubt were well oiled. Magically the rumor mill had caught wind of a certain red heads "real" motives behind dating a particular dork. Word had it that it was nothing more than a pity fuck, and that once the red head got what he wanted the dork would be tossed out like a used tissue. Another had it on good authority that he was only dating the dork because he was the only out homosexual in the school, and if a better choice ever presented itself he would ditch the dweeb like the trash he was. And yet another made it sound like Edd was blackmailing the jock into it, that he had some damning evidence held over the jocks head. For who in their right mind would date someone so low on the totem pole like Edd when they could have had their pick of the litter. Each one was made to sound as though they had come from Kevin's own mouth, confiding in his only true friend.

Both boys laughed these rumors off, for what did these jerk know about what they had. But they were wearing Edd down, seeds of doubt where being planted in the back of his mind. Though he put up a brave front for Kevin's sake he couldn't help but wonder if this was truly how he felt. The first two were ringing with a little bit truth for him from past experiences with the former jock. What if that was the only reason he was with him, because there was no better choice to be had or only for the sex. Feeling a little stupid now for giving in the other night to his own desires. But these doubts were kept at bay for the time being by Kevin's actions, they would hold hands going down the hall for all to see unashamed about who they were. Kevin kept pushing him to hold his head up high about himself and not try and hide. "Do their opinions really matter?"

"They do when those opinions are followed by fists." Edd replied as he looked around at the faces staring at them as they walked by with their hands clasped and fingers intertwined.

"Don't worry about them, they're only jealous that we look so good together." Kevin squeezed his hand gently. "And I think a fence is being mended that might give us a little help with all the bull shit."

"Pray tell." Edd looked in his boyfriends eyes.

"Nazz wants to talk to me later, I think she wants to apologize for the break in our friendship." Kevin looked hopeful that things were turning around, sure Nazz could be a little self centered at times. But Kevin thought she was an alright person once you got to know her.

"Didn't she cast you aside once it didn't suite her needs?" Edd was skeptical of her motives.

"Yeah sometimes her rep means more to her then anything." Kevin rubbed the back of his neck looking sheepish Edd did have a point. "Look being on friendly terms with her wouldn't hurt."

"Well if you think it would be beneficial for us to be friendly I'll leave it in your capable hands." The warning bell rings Edd wave's goodbye and heads towards his class as Kevin's heads in the opposite direction to his class. The rest of the day was spent in relative peace, the usual looks but no foul words were cast in their direction. Lunch was spent with the usual four compatriots, Eddy along with Nazz and her boy toy were nowhere to be seen.

"Ok Skipper, I have bought you some time to go see your precious friend after school without Kevin getting in your way." Nazz says as she leans against a bookcase in the library.

"How did you manage that, thought you two weren't friends anymore." Edd looked at her with a little distrust in his eyes.

"That's none of your business, just do what you're supposed to do and we both get what we want.' Nazz shoves her finger in his chest, _"this bitch needs to stop doing that"_ he thought to himself as he rubbed the area of his chest she poked.

"Alright I got it, geez, Double D will get your stupid note." Eddy walked away, his gut in a knot from the storm of turmoil and doubt he was having over this "plan" Nazz had. When the day was done and school let out Edd and Kevin said their goodbyes to one another and headed their separate ways. Edd hurried home to do his chores for the day and then onto home work, only to have his choirs interrupted by a knock at the door.

Opening the door he is met by a solemn looking Eddy. "Eddy is everything alright?"

Eddy steps into the house. "Yeah can we talk?" Edd nods his consent to his request and motions him to the living room. "Somewhere a little more private." Edd's face tells of his concern but he complies with his friends request and they head upstairs to his room. Edd sits on the bed and motions for his friend to take the desk chair. "So it's about something I found on Kevin."

"Eddy I wish you would just give this up already." Edd's expression changed from worry to annoyed in the blink of an eye.

Eddy gets up from the chair and comes over to his friend and sits with him on the bed. "I'm not trying to hurt you D, I just want to protect you from him." Eddy lays his hand upon Edd's which was situated in his lap. Electricity shots through his body from the point where their hands made contact. "Edd I care about you, don't you see that, I only want what's best for you." He looks into Edd's blue eyes and see what he desires reflected into them, and Eddy magically put one and one together and come up with two for once. All this time his reactions to Edd and his homosexuality was his own denial about his feelings, his reaction to Kevin, he even had to admit he was jealous of Nat as well.

Edd's annoyance didn't subside. "If you want what's best for me Eddy then you would want me to be happy. Kevin is making me happy, and if it turns out I made a terrible mistake in the end I would hope that you would be there to support me instead of undermining me at every turn." Edd's words cut him to the core, he still didn't view what he saw as protecting his friend as undermining him.

"I love you Edd." Eddy said quietly, but Edd heard him none the less.

"I know Eddy, we are like brothers." Edd pats his hand which he had yet to remove.

Eddy reaches up and grabs Edd by the back of the neck and pulls him in for a kiss, it was quick and chaste but Eddy hoped it would get his point across. Edd froze for a second then backed away from Eddy, though he loved his friend he did not have romantic feelings for him, and he saw that his rejection was not well met. "Fine! Here!" Eddy says as he gets up and throws the note on the floor then storms out of the room and then the house. Edd sighs with frustration at his hot headed friend, _"Give him time, he'll come around."_ His logical side thought. _"Yeah but what if he still wants that from me? Or the rejection pushes him away?"_ Edd's emotion's as always was being emotional, only time will tell. Edd reaches down and picks up the note. On the inside was beautiful penmanship so it was obviously not Eddy's handwriting.

Eddward,

I am someone who has been very close to Kevin for several years and consider myself to be one of his closest friends. None the less what he has done to you and what he is doing to you cannot go untold. The rumors going around school are true, well at least two of them anyways where that whole blackmail thing came from I am not sure. He confided in me his feelings on your relationships and somehow we must have been over heard, and you know how these people are they love a good bit of drama. Then there is what he has done to you in the past, the whole incident with Nazz in the boy's restroom. You remember the one where the two jocks beat the crap out of you that was all Kevin's idea along with the nasty rumors that followed that paved the way for your sister to do what she did to you. Now I am not telling you what you need to do, that is all up to you. If you can find it in your heart to forgive him and move on more power to you, but then you would just be allowing him to continue to use your kind heart for his needs. If I were you I would kick his ass to the curb as soon as possible and cut all ties with him so that he understands he can't use you like this. But like I said it's not my choice, I am only giving you sound advice whether you chose to follow it or not is up to you.

Sincerely,

A concerned friend

After school Kevin rushed over to meet Nazz a little too eagerly, he was secretly excited to have his old friend back. Meeting her in the library where she was sitting at a table patiently awaiting his arrival, looking up as the door opens she smiles at him and waves him over. Sitting down across from her he returns her smile. "Hey." He says to her.

"Hey Kev, how have you been?" She reaches over and puts her hand upon his hand which was resting on the table.

He takes her hand and gives it a squeeze. "You know, could be better."

"I heard about your parents, I didn't think they would react like that if they found out." She said as she released his hand and sat back in the chair. "Well I came here to see if I could help you come back to where you rightfully should be in this school."

Kevin looked a little puzzled by all that she had said, his brain slowly grinding into motion. "What do you mean?" He sits back in his seat as well feeling uneasy with the atmosphere this conversation was producing.

"I would like to try and get you back in the A-list crowd and undo what damage has been done." She looked calm and collective, assured that Kevin would jump at this offer. "All you have to do is ditch the extra baggage."

"You mean leave Edd?" Kevin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I can't do that Nazz, I love him." Kevin hadn't said that to Edd yet, but it rang true to his ears.

"Him really darling, I would have hoped you would have seen how useless he was after what the football team did to you." Nazz had let too much slip in the way she had said things.

Kevin's mind clicked and it all came together, the last puzzle piece had been put into place. "You know, I had wondered how my parents found out. I liked the guys on the football team, but none of them had my old man's work number" Kevin was so mad at that moment steam could almost be seen coming from his ears.

"Ops busted." She didn't even try to deny it which pissed Kevin off more. "All I was trying to do was show you how worthless that dork was, I didn't expect your parents to kick you out and hand deliver you to him."

"So if I had to guess you're the one behind all these rumors aren't you. You're the one antagonizing people into hurting me and Edd." Kevin's hands were balling into fist on the table, he would never hit her, his mother taught him better than that. But god did he want to.

"Most of that's true, I did it all for you Kev. I was trying to open your eyes that he cannot be the support you need." She was trying to sound comforting hoping he would calm down and see her point.

"And who the hell is support to be that support? You? The person who started all this bull shit to begin with." Kevin starts to get up and walk away.

"Ugh ugh Kevin, think of Eddward." Kevin stops then looks at her rage burning deep within his eyes, takes a deep breath and then sits back down. "You know he really is to kind for his own good. I wonder if he will continue to be so after he gets my little gift."

Kevin's anger only increasing at her words, every second was like a fire under a boiler, soon he would explode. "He's a better person then you ever will be Nazz."

"Oh yes he is, practically a saint that one." Nazz puts her finger to her chin as she pondered her words. "They'll build him a statute and anoint him as such I am sure, then they can hold his feast, oh let's say April first, we can dub him the patron saint of fools."

Kevin growing up catholic understood her insinuation. "Don't you dare lay a hand on him, or so help me."

"You'll do what? With what arm at your back?" Nazz's temper was getting the better of her, how dare he address her as such, he was a nothing now and she a queen. Why she was even bothering with this exchange now she was quickly beginning to wonder. "Now Kevin be a good little boy, ditch the worthless fag and come home where you belong. I already have someone perfect for you to replace him with, so if it's about having some cock to suck I've taken care of it."

"Fuck you." Kevin gets up and leaves not turning around as she called after him. Nazz just sat there thinking well that could have gone better. Kevin quickly made his way back to Edd's house and up the stairs. Entering Edd's room he finds him sitting on his bed clutching a piece of paper concern in his eyes. "Edd, are you alright?"

Edd slowly looks up at Kevin's face and extends his hand giving him the piece of paper. Kevin looks over it quickly recognizing Nazz's hand writing immediately, he crumples up the note and throws it on the floor. "Care to explain." Edd says half heartedly as he looks at the paper now littering his floor not having the heart to chastise Kevin for the mess.

"Yeah, it's Nazz she's the one who's been behind all the bull shit from the start." Kevin rubs his mouth trying to calm himself from the reality of how twisted his friend really was, the fact that she thought she was helping him.

"Oh." Is all that Edd could say.

"She's the one who told my parent's, she's the one who's been spreading the rumors." Kevin sits down on the bed and takes Edd by the shoulders and forces him to look him in the eye. "Edd I would never do that to you. Sure I have fucked up, and I know it will be hard to believe but I had nothing to do with what happened to you in that bathroom."

Edd's eyes didn't change from the concern that was in them, his brain trying to piece it all together at the moment his heart hoping that Kevin was being honest with him. "Kevin, I so want to believe you I do, and I wouldn't put it past Nazz to be so cut throat."

"Edd I love you." Kevin said it soft and gentle barely audible. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I can't imagine you anywhere but by my side. Please don't let her influence you like this." Edd looks into Kevin's eyes and see nothing but sadness at the possibility of him leaving and a sincerity that Edd couldn't deny. And the confession of love felt so real to Edd that his logical side and emotional side did something they rarely did, agreed for once that Kevin was being honest with him and true about his feelings.

"I believe you Kevin." With Edd's words Kevin brings him in for a bone crushing hug and a sigh of relief left his lips. Pulling away he plants several kisses on Edd's lips a weight had been lift only to be replaced by another, Nazz's threat and a reminder of the dream he had. Action had to be taken Ed and Angelica had to be told what was going on, and he would be damned if he was going to let Nazz touch one hair on Edd's head.

 **A/N- See dshell99 it wasn't that bad, hope you had fun with it though. A little side note for those wondering about Nazz's threat, in the catholic religion people of great religious belief or martyrs are made saints. And a saints feast is the celebration on the day they were born into heaven or commonly known as the day they died. And if Kevin has said those three little words before I couldn't remember and I looked but didn't see them so be kind if he has.**


	29. Rally the Troops

Chapter 29- 11th grade Rally the Troops

 **A/N- Ok ladies and gentlemen get your pitch forks and torches ready lol. Warnings : Language, violence, homophobic remarks.**

After Nazz's devious behavior was brought to their attention, and Edd's reassurance of his trust in Kevin the boy's head to Ed's for a war conference of sorts. Double D told them all about Eddy delivering the note that Nazz had written and about the kiss. Kevin was livid that Eddy had laid a hand on his dork, the rest were in shock with the realization that Eddy's jealousy was his motivation for his hatred of Kevin. Then Kevin told them about Nazz's proposal and threat along with the information of what she had done to him. "That fucking bitch." Angelica was fuming how dare she do this to her boys.

"Now Miss Johnson normally I would say control your temper, but in this case the sentiment is shared. She is a bitch, but how best to handle this is what we should be asking ourselves." Double D was always the voice of reason. They sat in silence for a few seconds each pondering the best course of action.

"How about we have your mother talk to the school again and see if we can get the same thing we did last year." Ed said in a hopeful tone.

Double D considered it for a second. "We can try but I doubt they will go for it this time, we had a note with a threat of violence on it to help our case last time." He holds up the letter Eddy had given him. "All they will see here is a person trying to warn me against dating Kevin."

"I could tell the police what she said to me, a threat against your life is serious D." Kevin was hopeful about that suggestion.

Double D just shook his head. "At this point it's just hear say as far as they would be concerned, your word against hers." He leaned back in the couch and put his head on Kevin's shoulder, Kevin wrapping his arm around Double D, both feeling a little defeated at this point.

"Well i know what I'm doing the first time I see the little bitch." Everyone just looked at Angelica. "Knocking her on her fucking ass."

"Baby I know you mean well but that would just get you suspend, and leave us with one less pair of eyes on D." Ed kissed her on the check to let her know he appreciated the thought behind it though.

"Well looks like our only option is to watch and wait and be ready for whatever she does." Kevin said as he rubbed Double D's shoulder comforting him with the arm he had around him. With no solution presenting itself the teens tried taking their minds off of it as best they could by watching some of Ed's horror flicks or playing a video game, but the situation continued to gnaw at the back of each of their minds. The following day two people got what was coming to them at separate times and separate places.

When Angelica arrived at school that day she was like a lioness on the hunt, and she wasn't going to stop until she found her prey. Yes Ed had a point but this bitch had it coming and she was ready to deal out some justice. As though the fates had intervened and delivered Nazz to her on a silver platter, Angelica spotted her at her locker alone her boy toy of a boyfriend nowhere in sight. She walks up behind the blonde and taps her on the shoulder, when Nazz turned around Angelica struck bringing back her fist and landing it upon Nazz's nose. The blonde slams into her locker and crumples to the floor dropping her books in the process and cupping her nose. "What the fuck is your problem?" Angelica was fuming, restraining herself from just kicking Nazz as she was helpless on the floor, an effort that proved useless as Nazz gave her a look and Angelica just brought her foot back and kicked her in the stomach. "What did he ever do to you?"

"Oh you mean the fag, he breathed." Nazz said after getting her wind back, Angelica kicked her again.

"Leave my boys the fuck alone." One last kick and Angelica turned and walked away at a hurried pace so as to not be caught in the act. Later she confided in Ed what she had done to receive a warm look from him and a very passionate thank you kiss. Edd on the other hand though grateful for the support, thought her actions were reckless and he really didn't want to see her get herself in trouble. Later on that day Ed was on a hunt of his own, noticing that Eddy hadn't come to lunch he went looking for him. Finding his "friend" outside sitting on the grass under a tree eating a lunch he brought from home.

Ed walks up to him, Eddy didn't notice him until he was standing next to him. Looking up and seeing the look on Ed's face sent Eddy into a panic. "We need to talk you little shit. Come here." Ed grabs Eddy by the shirt and drags him to the football field where they had their little talk under the bleachers. "What the fuck is up with you? Why are you siding with Nazz against D?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Eddy says sheepishly not looking Ed in the eyes. "I aint siding with anyone."

"So all that D said is a lie is that it? You didn't give him a note from Nazz." Ed crosses his arms frustrated with his friend.

"Just because I gave him some stupid note doesn't mean I'm taking her side" Eddy was getting defensive at this point.

"Well it sure looks that way to us." Ed drops his hands and takes a step closer to Eddy boxing him into one of the support beams of the bleachers. "You avoid us, you go digging up dirt on Kevin." Ed pokes Eddy in the chest, really people need to stop doing that he thought to himself. "If you don't like him that's your issue, but you should support your friend even if you think they are making a mistake by dating someone. If they stumble you help them up, you don't trip them."

Eddy looks down at his feet a little guilt for his actions began to plague his conscience. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt Double D."

"Well you did, you know if you had a thing for him you should have made your move before he found someone else." Ed understanding Eddy's personality knew he wasn't truly trying to hurt Double D, but it was only his misguided attempt to protect him. But he still needed to put his foot down on this course of action. "You know what don't come around us until you figure out who your friends are. Not that you've been coming around anyways."

"I'm sorry man I wasn't trying to hurt him, I only wanted to protect him, I couldn't stand the thought of Kevin breaking his heart again." Eddy was desperate for Ed to understand and not throw him aside.

"Eddy you broke his heart by not being there. You know Nazz is threatening him, basically told Kevin to leave him and submit to her will or she will hurt Edd." Big Ed hoped this would bring Eddy back to his senses and see how much his absents and snooping had undermined Double D. "But you know what Kevin is standing beside him, the easy road would be just leave him get back his popularity be Mr. big man on the block. But he's not because he doesn't want to lose D he cares for him alright so get that through your skull already." Edd turns and starts to walk away not wanting to hurt his friend physically, knowing he had already done more damage with his words then his fist could ever do.

"Ed, can you tell him I'm sorry." Eddy's face was contorted in an emotion he rarely showed, regret.

"Why don't grow a spine and tell him yourself." And with that Ed left his friend to contemplate his words and reflect upon his actions. After this week they would be going into Thanksgiving break and Edd and his friends where looking forward to the short get away from the dramas of school life. Ed hoped Eddy would come to his senses and return to where he belonged at his friend's side. Kevin hoped that Nazz would forget this stupid quest of hers and leave them in piece. Angelica only hoped to get another shot at the blonde's nose, for it was a little to straight for her taste at the moment. All wanted to finish their high school lives with as few physical and mental scares as possible, a task that was proving difficult with the actions of their peers.

 **A/N- Yeah its short sorry.**


	30. Thanks be Given

Chapter 30- 11th grade Thanks be Given

 **A/N- Sorry it has taken me a minute to update this I got all caught up in another story and hit a snag on what to do here. Sometimes you know where you want to go but a canyon pops up in-between you and your destination. Warnings: Language.**

After the week ended the Thanksgiving vacation started for the school. The four friends found themselves barely able to get together as a whole because of conflicting work schedules, Angelica having started a new job that first weekend of their vacation. Edd and Kevin would mainly have opposing shifts, one working in the morning while the other in the evening. That's just the way it worked out for most of their vacation. Both boys did manage to get thanksgiving off though and the morning after, which was good for them so they could do some early Christmas shopping. Edd woke up around eight thirty that morning and got ready for his day, after taking a shower and brushing his teeth he gets dressed and heads down stairs. Finding his mother already in the kitchen and a pot of coffee ready, he makes himself a cup and sits down at the table enjoying his beverage.

"Your father should be home soon, he took the night shift so he could spend the day with us." Leslie said as she started to make breakfast, just a simple one with eggs bacon and toast. They quietly enjoyed their breakfast as his father came in midway through and kiss his wife on the forehead. Taking a piece of toast he excused himself and head upstairs to take a nap. Kevin woke a little before ten and came downstairs after his morning routine, having himself a bowl of cereal.

The morning was slow going, Kevin laid about on the couch watching TV while Edd and his mother started preparations for dinner. They stuffed the turkey and put it in the over for the 5 hours it would take to cook the bird, then went and watch the Thanksgiving day parade with Kevin, having recorded it's 9am start. Around 1 Tony came back down the stairs, Edd and his mother continued cooking the dinner while Kevin and Tony sat and watched football together.

Kevin did feel bad that he was unable to help, but he was rather a disaster in the kitchen when it came to anything major. Simple he could, but things like this were out of his league and he didn't want ruin the meal they were creating. Around three the turnkey was done and in went the green bean casserole and rolls, while they finished up the mashed potatoes, gravy and put the finishing touches on the deviled eggs. At a quarter past 4 dinner was ready and they all sat down to eat.

They joined hands and said grace, bowing their heads Tony spoke. "Lord we would like to thank you for the bountiful feast you have provided. Thank you for the family and friends that join us here today and for their continued health and safety. Lord we pray that you help the world to become a better place for all who live in it, and help those who stumble find their paths. We ask this in your name. Amen." They all repeated "amen"

They enjoyed their meal with the usual small talk about work and school, friends and extended family drama. After dinner Kevin and Tony did the clean up allowing Edd and Leslie a little time to sit and relax. After all the left over's where put away and the dishwasher started, the two gentlemen came and joined their loves in the living room and watch the Charlie Brown special on TV. After a little family time, Kevin and Edd retreated upstairs to Edd's room for some alone time. Closing the door behind them they lay in the bed and cuddled facing each other planting chaste kiss and whispering their adoration for each other.

Only ten minutes later the door swings open to his mother coming in the room "Edd can you take the..." She stops mid sentence when she sees the two of them hop up quickly. "Boy's, please no funny business."

"Mmmoooommm, we are not doing anything inappropriate." Edd blushed at his mother intrusion and words.

"I trust you, but what kind of mother would I be if I didn't say it." She did trust his judgment, but having the belief of waiting till marriage she only had her sons best interest in mind. "Well can you please take the trash out for me."

"Sure." And Edd gets up and leaves the room to do what he was asked.

She looks at Kevin, who was avoiding eye contact. "I know you care about him." She contemplated her words. "I am not disputing that, just please be careful with his heart."

"Yes ma'am, I never want to hurt him again." He finally looked her in the eye. "I would like to stay by his side forever, if he'll have me."

"Are you saying what I think your saying?" Kevin nods to her question. "Are you sure, you're so young, it might not last."

Kevin said in a confident voice. "It's a feeling I get deep down, like I know he's the one."

She looked in his eyes and only saw truth in them. "OK sweetie, but at least wait till after high school."

"Long engagement?" Kevin was hopeful she would agree.

"Maybe." With that she left as Edd was coming up the stairs. "Leave the door open." She said to Edd as she walked down the stairs.

"Yes mother." Edd replied as he entered his room and closed the door most of the way. He crawled back into his bed and continued where he left off, kissing the red heads lips. They cuddled and talked for a good hour before watching a movie together, a classic horror movie by Ridley Scott Alien, then going to their respective rooms and going to sleep so they could do some shopping early the next morning. It was ten at night when they went to bed, and Kevin wasn't prepared for the 3am wake up call for the black Friday shopping the next morning. Sure it was some good deals but why the fuck did he have to wake up before the sun got up. Edd had to practically help him into the bathroom and remind him to take his clothes off before getting in the shower. Once the water hit him he started coming to life slowly. Once out and dressed Edd was waiting for him with a nice cup of coffee, without any creamer and just a little sugar just how Kevin liked it. Driving over to Ed's house they find a half awake Ed and an excited Angelica waiting for them. Piling in the car they head up to get something to eat from McDonald's, not the healthiest choice but when you're on the go you do what you have to do.

The lines both inside and in the drive thru were outrageous, you could already feel the tension building in the air on this day, and they hadn't even gotten onto the main battlefield yet. Each getting their breakfast they head to their destination, Wal-Mart. In a small town like this it's practically the only place to get electronics without having to drive an hour to Summerville to get them. As feared it was only 4:35 in the morning and the lines in here were ten times worse than at McDonalds. As to not alert the significant others as to what they were getting each other, Ed and Kevin went one way and Double D and Angelica went another.

As Ed and Kevin were in the electronics section checking out the deals on TV's, which they couldn't afford and still buy presents for everyone, A fight broke out between two grown men over the last TV on the display. As the two men rolled around on the floor, punching each other over this material thing, a little old lady and her husband snuck off with the TV in question. Kevin gave a little laugh over it and shook his head. "The things people will do for that perfect gift."

"Oh that's nothing, I remember hearing about a riot over Tickle Me Elmo dolls." Ed said shaking his head at the thought. "Now that's some crazy shit there." The two exited the electronics section after the fight was broken up by the cops and passed the jewelry counter, Kevin stopped and looked inside the case but nothing looked good enough. He wanted to get Edd something special and all these looked generic and cookie cutter. "Planning on proposing are we?" Ed said jokingly, just to get a little shock when he saw Kevin's expression. "Oh god." He thinks about it for a second. "OH GOD, are you sure I mean you haven't been dating all that long, isn't that rushing it."

"Yeah you're probably right, but I just know he is the one you know. And it's not like I am asking him to marry me tomorrow." They walk away from the counter, Kevin still contemplating on if it was a good idea or not to propose to Double D. Edd had a point they had only been dating for a short time, what if he scared the boy away. But his heart wanted Double D for the rest of his life, that he was sure about, that feeling deep down in his very soul was real and it was begging to be let out and be shown to the rest of the world.

Ed saw the worry and contemplation written on Kevin's face. "Look I'll help you, but don't go getting him one of those generic pieces of shit from here." He claps Kevin on the shoulder to show his support. "You know Angelica is going to be all about this, damn that girl is going to be hard to deal with for a little bit, and I blame you." Ed smiled when he said this.

On the other side of the store Angelica and Edd where looking through the clothes not really sure if they would be something the boys would want. "Well I could get him one of these and then something else as well." She said holding up and X-man shirt that displayed the team as thought they were charging into battle.

"Yeah you know Ed, get him a horror movie or comic book he doesn't have and he'll be happy." But Edd couldn't help but feel that Christmas was meant for getting the one's you loved something special. And at this moment he was having difficulty finding that little something extra, Cologne, to mundane, shirts, doesn't say I care, video game, to generic an idea. There had to be something that would get his feelings across and not seem to cliché and ordinary. Angelica puts the shirt into the chart and Edd put a Deadpool one in as well, might as well take her suggestion and get one good and one normal present. Passing the jewelry counter Edd eyes the rings, looking through them all, they looked nice but nothing he would want to buy for Kevin.

"So thinking about popping the question to our little geeky jock?" Angelica said with that spark in her eyes. You know the one where she is just picturing not only the perfect wedding for the two of them, but separate bachelor parties that she somehow attends both.

"No, even if I were contemplating such an action I am pretty sure Kevin would say no. Being that we have only been dating for a short time, the idea would probably scare him off." Edd sighed, he loved Kevin he just didn't know how much Kevin loved him. Sure the jock had said it, but to what depth did his affection run. Was it as deep as the ocean or as shallow as a stream, in any case Edd wasn't going to push and drive the red head away by something as silly as his hopes at a fairy tale life with him.

"Well darling, there is nothing wrong with hoping and nothing wrong with getting him a ring, if only to say you care about him." Edd was sure she need to stop watching Ab Fab, all this sweetie darling coming from her mouth now a days. The look on his face still told her he was unsure. "But if you're worried that much about it I'll do a little snooping and find out, though I am pretty sure he aint going anywhere unless you kick him to the curb." Edd was happy for her support, but couldn't help the thought that crossed his mind of her interrogating poor Kevin in a Spanish inquisition style scene. Both groups continued their shopping dodging scuffles and waiting in long ass lines to get what they wanted and to check out that day. Both Kevin and Edd not finding that something special they thought the other would really like in that corporate mad house. After they left they went to a few other places seeing if there was anything else that might be good for their family or loved ones. But coming up short they decided to call it a day and all four of them went home and took a nap so they could be well rested when they had to go in for work that evening.


	31. Christ's Mass

Chapter 31- 11th grade Christ's Mass

 **A/N- Ya more fluff writing for me, not my strong suite really lol.**

That Friday night Ed and Angelica where laying together in post orgasmic bliss. She was happy that her man always made sure she was satisfied before the show was over. Laying her head in the crook of his arm, she let out a satisfied sigh and contemplates the morning's event. "You know Edd was looking at the rings this morning. Think he wants to give Kevin one." Not really wanting to delve into her personal fantasy of a big gay wedding just yet.

Ed scrunched up his face in deep thought. "That's funny so was Kevin."

Getting excited about the news she said in a rush. "Oh, do you think they are having the same thought?"

Ed didn't want to really deal with her antics over that idea he decided not to tell her what he discovered. "No, probably not what you're thinking anyways. What did D say when you asked? And I know you asked."

Hiding her face because she was caught red handed she replies to his question. "Well he said no, but I'm sure he is thinking about it."

"Well that could be your over active imagination." Ed sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose."Just let them be ok, a ring doesn't always mean marriage Angelica." Seeing her mock pout face he continues. "OK sure if they decide to get engaged I would be happy for them, but I'm not going to push them, and neither are you" He bopped her on the nose with his forefinger.

"Ok, I won't." She nuzzled her face into his chest and started to drift to sleep.

Ed continued to ponder the rings. "And don't you go telling D about the ring either, it was just a gift idea, like giving someone your class ring ok." She was half asleep and just hummed her acknowledgement. The weekend went by for all of them, having to work and the usual antics teenagers get into plus family time left Edd and Kevin with little to no time to do any Christmas shopping. Before they knew it school was back in session for another three weeks before the winter break started. To their surprise and relief no moves were made by Nazz at this time, she seemed as uninterested in them as they were in having anything to do with her. An uneasy standoff would be the best way to describe the aura in the air around them if they crossed paths in the hallway. The four friends did their best to not worry about it, but always trying to come up with a solution in the back of their minds. The trouble is that if you keep looking at the same problem over and over again you tend to keep coming up with the same answers. So Edd had decided to walk away from if for the moment, hoping that when he returned to it he would have a fresh perspective on it. Over the course of the three weeks Kevin and Ed would go out shopping together to try and find Double D and Angelica the perfect gifts.

They went to a few local small business, everything from book stores to antique shops finding nothing they thought the dork would like. Today they made their way into a jewelry shop. "You still have no ruff idea on what you want to get D yet?" Ed said as they walked through the door of the shop, their conversations beforehand had been about Ed's gift to Angelica from the antique shop a small jewelry box with oriental designs down the side.

"Like I said I'll know it when I see it." Kevin started looking threw the cases seeing all sorts of rings and necklaces on display. None of them really catching his eye as being something truly unique and special for his boyfriend. He wanted something that would be thoughtful and show his feelings at the same time and in a way remind him of the one that made his heart skip a beat when he looked in his eyes. Kevin had a little money saved up so it could be a little on the pricey side if he needed it to be, Mr. and Mrs. Kanker were not asking too much from him in rent as they wanted him to save up for his future. Looking through the ring case he came upon it, something that he felt was perfect for Edd. It was a black metal ring with small blue sapphires lining the top half of the ring, the color of the metal reminded him of Edd's hair and the stones his eyes. Waving over the sales clerk they discussed the ring in question, because the metal type is not what people normally look for and the quality of the gems were kind of on the low side the ring was fairly cheap, all things considering. "How much for a inscription." He writes down what he would like.

"That will be another $50, is that alright?" The clerk asked.

"Perfect, when will it be ready?" Kevin was delighted that he had found what he was looking for finally.

"The day after tomorrow if that's alright." Kevin nodded and paid for the ring and headed out the door receipt in hand eagerly waiting for the day after tomorrow to see the finished work. A few days later he picked up the ring and a little something extra to go with it, he was nervous and excited about this purchase he couldn't wait to see the look on Edd's face when he gave it to him.

The following week Angelica Pulled Edd out of his house, knowing full well he hadn't found a gift yet for Kevin. Her Ed and Double D went do to the main strip of town to go through the family owned shops. Ed's suggestion seeing how Kevin and him had found some good things down there the previous week. As Edd and Angelica were looking through some cases Edd asks. "So what did you get the big guy?"

"Why me of course silly." She giggled a little then whispered. "A bong that has the Cheshire Cat on it."

"That's original." They continued to look through the cases Angelica pointing out the rings to Edd who was quick to say. "No, I already told you I don't want to give him the wrong idea and scare him off Angelica." She just thought _"can't blame a girl for trying."_

Look through the glass cases, still not finding anything he thought would be special enough. Rings, necklaces, ear rings, and pendants were all he saw and he was getting discouraged. Letting out a sight he hears Ed call them over to another case, inside were watches of all types. Wristwatches, pocket watches, battery powered, winding and self winding, a wide variety of different designs and styles. Looking through the case he saw a pocket watch that had a Celtic knot design on the cover. Getting the clerks attention she comes over and brings out the watch for him to examine. It was a wind up pocket watch made of brass brought to a high shine, opening the cover you could see the workings of the watch behind the face, which was adorn with more Celtic design around the numbers. Writing down what he wanted inscribed on the inside of the cover he pays for the watch and gets his receipt to pick it up in two days.

After both boys had picked up their presents for each other they hid them in places where they hoped the other wouldn't find them. Kevin had gotten Edd a shirt as well to present to him in front of his parents. He was nervous about giving the ring to him in front of his mother, knowing she would only bring up her concerns and ruin the moment for them. Edd had about the same thought about his gift, being embarrassed about the sentimental nature of the inscription. The remaining time until Christmas drug on for the two of them, they were both nervous and excited about their gifts for the other. Also Kevin was feeling a little down because of a few of the traditions that he was not doing with his own family this year, like putting up the Christmas tree or decorating the house, though new memories were being mad he couldn't help but reflect on the old ones. He particularly enjoyed supporting Edd to make sure he didn't fall as he put the star on top of the tree, getting to put his hands on Edd's waist. He felt this is how family is suppose to be, loving regardless of whether or not you fit a certain mold.

Finally the day came and for once Kevin was up early with no complaining. Meeting Edd in the bathroom they brushed their teeth together. "Hey dork." Edd nodded in his direction as he continued to brush his teeth. Kevin leans in to whisper. "I got a little extra for you, but I don't want to give it to you in front of your parents."

Edd spits the toothpaste out and looks at Kevin in the mirror. "Ok, we exchange our real gifts privately." Now Kevin was intrigued, the dork had gotten him a secret gift to. They head downstairs and have a quick breakfast waiting on Leslie to get back from work having taken the night shift to be here with her family in the morning. Walking in at around nine she shuffles over to the coffee maker and gets a cup. "Please don't expect me to be overly energetic this morning." She practically looked like a zombie at this point, working days then going in again for a night shift can be rather ruff on a person. Coffee in hand they make their way into the living room where Edd passed out the gifts that were under the tree to everyone. The usual gifts were given, the parents got them both clothes that they needed seeing how Edd had started to grow out of a few and Kevin was in short supply still. Plus a video game for Edd and some money for Kevin, Edd got them a few classic movies he knew they would enjoy and Kevin got them some throw rugs to keep warm on the winter nights, the parents got each other some books the other was looking forward to. After the initial gift giving and family time of watching how the Grinch stole Christmas, as Leslie napped in her recliner, the boys went for a short drive out to the creek. Being mindful of the roads due to snow earlier that night, they listened to some music on the way singing along to the lyrics. Reaching the pull off Edd parked in front of the old oak tree and turned off the car. **(if you want the ending See Ice Queen)**

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They sit there looking at each other for a minute the temperature in the car quickly falling without the heater on. Edd pulls out a small package from his coat and hands it to Kevin, clearing his throat "I hope you like it Kev." Something about that nickname brought a blush to Kevin's cheeks, he was only happy that the cold had already made them red. Opening it he finds the pocket watch inside the velvet box. "Go ahead and open it." Edd said a blush coming on his cheeks as well.

Opening the lid of the watch Kevin sees an inscription inside, it read "Let us swim the oceans of time together." The words bordered by a heart. Kevin enjoyed the sentiment understanding it was Edd's dorky way of saying he wanted to be with him for a very long time. "I love it, its beautiful babe." Kevin leaned in and gave Edd a sweet kiss while caressing his cold cheek. Breaking the kiss he reaches in his pocket and hands Edd a small velvet box as well. Opening it he finds the black ring attached to a chain, Edd admired it for a moment then pulled it out of the box to get a better look, in the inner band was a few words inscribed on it "My heart is yours"

Tears formed in Edd's eyes upon reading the inscription, "It's so lovely Kevin." Edd said looking at the ring.

Kevin takes the chain the ring was attached to and unclasps it, Edd turns around to allow Kevin to put it on his neck. "It's a promise I'm making to you, that we will be there for one another when we need it." Turning back around he looks into loving green eyes and wipes away a stray tear that was threatened to fall.

He leans in and gives his jock a kiss **.** "Thank you Kevin." Another kiss to the lips but the cold was becoming unbearable and both boys decided it was time to head back. Edd starts the car and the two of them return home to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate and watch a few more holiday classics while lying in each other's arms on the couch. Edd falling asleep as he lay against Kevin's chest listening to his heart beat and heavy breathing. Edd's mother looking at the two of them was coming to terms with the fact that her son was growing up faster then she would have liked, and that meant one day she would have to give him away to someone. And seeing how much they cared for each other she hoped it would be Kevin she gave him to.

 **A/N-I'll be hiding now seeing how a few people have probably got their pitchforks and torches out to kill me for that little joke. Ab Fab marathon here I come.**


	32. Whatcha Gonna Do

Chapter 32- 11th grade Whatcha Gonna Do

 **A/N – Time for a little fluffy drama Warnings : Drug use and smut.**

Their vacation was quickly coming to an end, and like thanksgiving the boys schedule was now on opposite ends, one on days and one on nights. When New years eve arrived they were both glad that the states laws prevented people under the age of 18 to work past nine at night and they had plenty of time to get ready and be at Ed's house well before midnight arrived. Getting there at a quarter past ten they interrupted a heavy make out session between Angelica and Ed, not seeing it but hearing the rustling of the sheets as they hurried to get off the bed and not be lewd in front of their guests. Like that has ever stopped a group of teenagers before or will again this night. While they passed the time till midnight they had decided to watch Creep Show for the first hour and then the new years eve special, Ed and Angelica on the couch while Kevin and Double D cuddled under a blanket on the floor not paying much attention to the movie or the time both long forgotten. The lights were out and the only illumination was from the TV which most of the time didn't give much, Kevin had been playing with Edd's hair as he rubbed their noses together and planted gentle kisses on his mouth. He switched to whisper l love you in his ear along with a playful nibble and flirtatious promises for later on that night, bringing forth a blushing smile and soft laughter from Edd.

Wanting more contact from his smoldering boyfriend he pulls him in with the arm that was wrapped around his back and lock their lips together, legs intertwine as feet rub together. Kevin's hand explores Edd's back as Edd caresses his well defined abs with his fingers teasing the hem of Kevin's pants playfully. With each contact their kisses deepened, parting their lips their tongues went into the well choreographed dance they knew so well together. "Edd I love you." Kevin breathed through their kisses making Edd's heart beat quicken even more.

Edd expressed his love for the red head with his actions, pouring it through the kiss, and then finally moaning it out as Kevin suck on his earlobe. "I love you to Kevin."

As he was about to rip Kevin's shirt off to let the battle of their sexes begin the lights came on and Ed's mother calls down the stairs. "Guys it's almost Midnight, why don't you all come up here and toast with us. We got champagne." Kevin just snickered a little about it, bringing their foreheads together and giving him a light kiss again before adjusting himself in his pants and getting up. Reaching down he helps Edd up off the floor and they walk upstairs, boy how the time flies when you're having fun or sucking face. Climbing the stairs hoping their erections would go down just a little they enter the kitchen and made their way to the living room. In the living room with little party hats on their heads was both Ed's and Double D's parents. The TV playing the New Years Eve special live from New York City as hundreds of thousands of people descended on Time Square for the festivities.

Edd's mother comes up to him a little tipsy, the woman barely ever drank in her life, and placed a little tiara on his head with the words Happy New Year on it. "There you go sweetie, now you're a little more festive." And she kisses him on the cheek. Waiting for her to turn around and walk away he removes it and puts it on Kevin's head, he had a shit eating grin on his face from seeing Edd in the tiara, Kevin sported that tiara like it was a first place price he had won. Mrs. Samuels came around giving them all a little plastic glass of champagne, and they waited for the ball to drop, counting down with the crowd on the TV when it reached zero they all cheer "Happy New Year." Kissing their other half's and downing their drinks to sing Auld Lang Syne.

Heading back down the stairs after the sound, Double D and Kevin take the couch while Angelica and Ed the floor as Ed rolled a joint. "Your mother is wasted D." Ed said after licking the paper to put the final twist to it.

"Lucky father doesn't touch the stuff." Double D handed Ed a lighter while Angelica pulled out some incents and placed it on the burner.

"I'd hate to see what she would be like stoned." Kevin pulled Edd in to cuddle with.

"So what are your New Year's resolutions?" Angelica questioned looking at each boy.

"To get my own place, so we don't have to use your couch all the time." Kevin said feeling like they were imposing on Ed with their need for make out sessions away from the parents.

"You know I don't care man, but it would appreciated. Means more alone time for us, doesn't it baby." Ed kissed Angelica on the cheek then lit the joint, taking a deep drag off of it then passing it to Kevin.

Edd took the joint from Kevin after his turn and took a drag. "How about you Edd?" Angelica again questioned.

Trying to hold in the smoke he replies. "I don't know, haven't really thought about it." He exhales. "Do better in school and try and get some scholarships." He passed the joint back to Ed as he spoke.

"Well I think it's about time I quit smoking pot." Ed said and everyone looked at him like he had been speaking in tongues. "What? I think it's about time I think about my future. What I want to do once I'm out of school."

"Good for you man." Kevin said as he took the joint back from Ed.

"So what's yours Angelica, I'm sure you got one." Angelica blushed at Edd's question.

The door to the basement opens wide and footsteps are heard coming down and Mrs. Kanker's voice calls down. "Eddward, me and your father are headed home, are you and Kevin coming with us?" Kevin did his best to hide the joint by cupping his hand over it and putting it between his leg and the couch arm.

"No mother we are going to stay here tonight." Edd said hoping she would hurry up and go.

"It smells like pot down here." She looks in Kevin's direction and sees the smoke billowing out from behind his leg. "Well come on don't be stingy." She motions with her hand flicking her fingers in a beckoning way toward Kevin. Reluctantly he passes the joint to her, she takes a few quick hits from it and exhales. "Hmm that's some good shit." She then passes it back to Kevin. "Alright dear, you be good and don't do anything I wouldn't do, or half the things I would." She climbs back up the stairs and leaves with her husband.

"Like I said D, your mother is wasted." Ed laughed at the implications of her statements. They finished their drug and got ready for "Bed". The boys just sliding into bed after the lights were turned off in their underwear, what was the point of pajamas if they were just going to get out of them anyways. Kevin enfolded Edd in his arms bringing him close to him, running his fingers through his dark hair relishing his scent breathing it in deeply. He kisses Edd's forehead and then his cheek, Edd brings his hand behind Kevin's head and joins their lips together. Moving their hips in time Edd asks. "Did you bring the condoms?"

Kevin shakes his head. "No, I thought you were."

Edd sighs and turns his head. "ED.." And a condom along with a little package of lube was tossed at them landing on the bed.

"Now leave me alone, a man's trying to take care of business over here." And they heard Angelica giggle as Ed attacked her neck again. Kevin reaches for the condom and lube and put them on the side table, his cock throbbing begging to be inside his love, but his mind had other plans first. Wiggling Edd out of his boxer briefs he goes down and licks the slit of Edd's head savoring the dab of pre-cum that had formed there. Going down on him slowly, squeezing the phallus between the roof of his mouth and his tongue, switching to suction as he came up stopping at the tip. Repeating his technique and picking up speed he was quickly bring Edd close to the edge, noticing the signs he comes off Edd with a pop and a grin on his face he loved making the boy squirm. But he was far from done he rolls Edd over on his stomach and playfully nips on his ass cheek, spreading them he licks Edd's hole making it nice and wet, bringing forth the moans that were sweet music to his ears as he pressed his tongue harder against that beautiful smooth entrance. Kevin continued to lap at the hole and Edd had to bury his face in the pillow as to not cry to heaven in pleasure, he shifted his hips a few times as the waves of sensations crashed against him.

Finished teasing that hole he slides up Edd's back licking up his spine while allowing his chest, stomach and finally his cock to rub against Edd's ass which was arched upwards. As he ground his hips against that perfect ass he sucked upon Edd's neck. "I love you babe." He whispered into his ear then working his way to the jaw bone coaxing Edd to turn his head and face him, he locked their lips together moaning into the kiss.

Edd turned his body to face Kevin and wrapped his legs around those strong thighs. "Take me Kevin, I need you." Edd's eyes were filled with lust and a need so great Kevin could feel his heart being pulled into those deep ocean blue eyes. Fumbling to quickly grab the condom and lube from the table he wraps himself and applies ample amount of lube to himself and Edd. Positioning himself he slides in slowly stopping when he was a quarter of the way in and worked himself back and forth inside of Edd loosening the muscles before proceeding further burying himself inside of Edd. "Fuck me Kevin." Kevin did as instructed and picked up the pace, but was trying not to embarrass Edd by making the bed squeak, a tricky task in a pull out bed.

He kissed Edd passionately only breaking it when he needed to catch his breath, he would bring their foreheads together and look into those deep blue eyes. "Ah babe, you feel so good." Heavy breathing escaped his lips then a passionate kiss. "I want to make you feel loved forever." Edd moaned into the next kiss happy to receive Kevin's love and return it tenfold. They both came at the same time stifling their moans in their kisses, panting softly and enjoying the afterglow they stayed there looking in each other's eyes gently kissing for what seemed like an eternity before Kevin pulled out of him and started the cleanup of Edd's stomach. Depositing the used condom and soiled tissue in the trash he lies back down with Edd and spoons with him. "I meant what I said, I want to be with you forever." He kisses Edd on the cheek. "Will you marry me?"

Edd could have sworn his heart stopped for a second he turns over to face Kevin. "Are you serious?"

A little bit of pain shot through his heart that it wasn't a immediate yes but he continued. "That's what the ring was about, but I lost my nerve at the last second." He swallows the lump in his throat and presses on. "But the more I think about it the more I feel stupid for not asking sooner. You are the one I want to spend the rest of my days with. Please say yes."

Unbeknownst to Kevin this was what Edd had secretly wanted but had feared to ask himself. Not able to find the words he so desperately needed to say, thoughts of how his mother would react kept swimming in his head, whether Angelica could keep it a secret if they told her, or if Ed would approve. Taking a breath he took that leap. "Yes." Kevin's eyes lit up and a smile that could have made the angels weep with joy spread across his face.

Kissing Edd again and again Kevin was so happy he had said yes. "Oh babe you have made me the happiest man alive, but you should probably hold off on wearing the ring, I don't think your mother would approve."

"Yes I was about to say that as well." Edd said shyly glad Kevin had said it and not having to do it himself. "Just brace yourself for the morning, a storm is brewing and its name is Angelica." The rest of the night before he went to sleep Edd lay in Kevin's arms and played with the ring on the necklace admiring it, wanting to put it on and show the world he was loved by a handsome red head. The following morning was a storm, Angelica going all fan girl over the idea and practically planning the wedding. They had to sit her down and explain that it was going to be a long engagement and the wedding wouldn't happen until after high school. She pouted for a second but congratulated them and gave Ed a knowing look that said I told you so.

When school started again Edd was extremely confident about his relationship with Kevin, he didn't give a damn who looked at them as they walked down the halls holding hands or who whispered behind their backs. The atmosphere was light and he was on cloud nine, but with all things, what goes up must come down. They were sitting down for dinner when the phone rang. "Eddward it's for you." His mother called.

Going into the living room he picks up the phone and greets the person on the line. Angelica's voice comes over the line broken and the sound of tears in it. "D, Ed's been busted."

"What? For what?" Edd said loudly, he was in disbelief, if it was for smoking pot then someone must have ratted him out, and one name came to mind. But why would Eddy do that. Kevin came up and made a questioning motion with his hands. "It's Ed, he got busted." He put it on speaker phone and headed into the hall.

"For selling Edd, they caught him in the act after school, selling it to one of the band members. You know Ricky, from what I can get from his mother he is being sent to juvie and won't be out till he's eighteen." Angelica breaks down at this part.

"It will be alright Angelica." Edd said looking over at Kevin hoping he would give some words of support but he didn't get the chance.

"How is it going to be alright Edd? How am I going to take care of the kid without him?" Edd dropped the phone, Kevin picked it back up.

"Angie did we hear you right?" Kevin asked as he supported Edd who looked like he was going to faint.

"Yes, I'm pregnant." She sobbed a little more and tried to take a few deep breathes. "I haven't even told him yet."

"We'll figure this out ok Angie, don't worry, give us a few minutes and we will be right over." Kevin hangs up the phone and the two of them get into Edd's car and head over to Angelica's to comfort her. Little did they know that the rat they were thinking of was not the one responsible, this rat has blonde hair and a bad attitude and watched on as the friend of her rival was thrown into a squad car in handcuffs.


	33. Say Love Me, Leave Me

Chapter 33 – 11th Grade Say Love Me, Leave Me

 **A/N- I'll call this one the Nina Simone arch, let's see what Nazz has up her sleeves for the boys now.**

The boys rushed over to Angelica's to find her in her room balling her eye's out upon her bed, she had no idea what to do or how she was going to finish school. Edd sits upon her bed and brings her in for a tight hug rocking her back and forth rubbing her shoulders with his free hand as he whispered reassurances to her. Kevin takes the small desk chair not far away, unsure how to help her through this. Slowly she starts to calm down and her sobbing subsided but tears still fell, she continues to hide her face in Edd's shoulder. Edd brings her off of his shoulder gently and looks her in the eyes. "Don't be made at me when I ask you, but are you sure?"

She looks at him, brow furrowed mouth slightly open as she lets out a gasp of disbelief. "Yes I'm sure you asshole." Saying that louder then she wanted she goes to a whisper. "I missed my period last month and have yet to get it this month, so I took a test before New Years and it came up positive."

"You took multiple test right." Edd ducks the pillow that was thrown at him.

"Yes I did!" Turning to Kevin she holds out her arms for a hug and says. "Kevin he's mean." Kevin obliges and effectively kicks Edd off the bed and into the desk chair.

"I'm sorry Angelica, but I have to ask these things." Edd slumped down in the chair but someone had to be the level headed one at a time like this. "Have you told your parents?"

She shakes her head in Kevin's shoulder. "No, I haven't even told Ed, how I am I suppose to tell them?"

Edd thought his words over carefully she still had one pillow left. "Well you are going to have to tell them eventually, you won't be able to hide it forever." Cringing as she gives him a knowing look but no pillow was thrown, relaxing he continues. "And wouldn't it be better sooner rather than later, so you can go to the doctor."

She nods, then sniffles a little the tears flowing again with the fears of what her mother would do. "I know, your right I will have to tell them I might as well do it."

Kevin rubs her arm for comfort. "Don't worry we will be here for you and when you tell the big guy as well." He kisses her on the forehead and presses his cheek against the spot as he tightened his one armed hug.

"Thanks." She whispered and returned the hug. "I'm so scared."

"You don't have to be Angie, you have us." Edd said trying to comfort her.

"Thank you darling, but what are my parents going to say, what if Ed doesn't want anything to do with me or the child." The tears flowed more heavily and she sobbed into Kevin's chest.

Edd gets up and scooches the two of them over so he could get on the bed and wraps an arm around her as well. She appreciated the support her two friends were showing her and knew that she was loved. "If he does that I'll kick his ass for you." Edd said and both of them looked at him in disbelief. "What? I might not win but he will know I was there." The rest of the night was a drama storm, they walked with her upstairs to let her parents know. Accusation flew and shouting matches where had, her parents even went as far as to think Kevin was the father. She quickly corrected them when she pointed out that he was Edd's boyfriend, that statement was to be met with a look of disgust and a few words of disbelief that she would hang out with ingrates like them. The argument ended with Angelica storming off to her room and the boys being told to leave.

The storm only abated after a week of careful contemplation and a little help from Edd who pointed out that she would only miss a little bit of school from giving birth and that it could be made up at summer school if need be. With reassurances that he would help her catch up and that Kevin and himself would be more than happy to help her through this as well, her parents concerns for her future were eased but her mother's disappointment lingered. The first step was complete now to the next scheduling a doctor's visit to get official confirmation about the pregnancy, the boys accompanied them to this visit after school. Tensions were high as they sat in the waiting room as her parents only wanted family in the back for this visit and truthfully six people in those tiny exam rooms would be too much. They sat there holding hands, ignoring the looks they received from a few of the people in the room. "So what do you think she's going to have? Boy or girl?" Edd asked as he rubbed his thumb against Kevin's

"I'm hoping for a boy." Kevin smiled just a little, though he wasn't biologically related to the child he was excited for it. "I'll teach him how to play football and we can cheer for him from the stands as he wins the super bowl." His smile only depends at the thought.

"Yeah that would be nice, and if it's a girl what then?" Edd laid his head on Kevin's shoulder thinking of all he could teach this child regardless of sex.

Kevin leaned his head against Edd's "Well I would teach her to dance, and not to take shit from no one, plus football. Wouldn't that be nice, not only the first woman in the NFL but also to win the super bowl."

"Yeah, wouldn't it?" Edd sighed, the waiting was unbearable. Finally the door opened and the three members of the Johnson family came out, the boys stood up and walked over to Angelica.

She smiled and nodded. "It's a positive result." Over the week she had started to get excited about having a child and more so once her parents had relaxed about the idea of having a grandchild. Of course it was a bit early but once over the shock they were warming up to the idea, and to the boys as well. Step two now complete they were now onto the final step, telling Ed. Having been put on his visitor list they made a trip up to the juvenile detention center two hours up north from Peach Creek in the town of Cherry Hills. Walking in and going through the pat downs and metal detectors, they sat in another room filled with several round lunch tables as they waited for Ed to be brought in. Several other families were sitting at other tables waiting on their loved ones as well, the door on the far end of the room opened and a line of boys filled into the room along with several corrections officers.

Edd came over to their table and sat down, they were all given instructions earlier not to touch the inmate in anyway. So Ed sat in his chair leaning back in it so no one could say they broke the rules. "Hey guy's it's good to see you." He said looking at his two friends then facing Angelica. "Hey baby, how are you holding up?"

"That's why we're here Ed." She opens her mouth again searching for the words to tell him he was a father but coming up short.

"Don't tell me you're leaving me because of this. I only have eleven months then I'm out of here." Ed's face was in a panic, the knowledge that she was out there waiting for him was making his days more bearable in here.

She shook her head fiercely. "No honey, that's not what I wanted to say." She pauses again finding it hard to come out with it. Edd grabs her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze, she looks him in the eye and takes in a deep breath. "Ed, I'm pregnant."

Ed's jaw drops, he was in shock they had been so careful how was this possible. "You're pregnant?" She nods, and the realization of what she said came flooding in and his heart exploded with joy and a little fear at the same time. "Oh my god, I'm going to be a father." Ed stands and yells these words at the ceiling with arms raised and a huge smile on his face and he breaks the rules when he hugged her. Whispering I love you in her ear over and over again kissing her cheek. A guard approaches and tells them roughly not to touch.

"Give him some slack he just found out he's going to be a father or didn't you hear?" Edd said looking the guard over like he was a fool, but rules were rules and he told Ed again to sit down. Ed followed the instruction not wanting to have the visit cut short or to be punished for disobeying. The rest of the short visit was spent discussing the events of telling her parents and the drama that ensued along with their final acceptance of the situation plus the doctor's visit. But all too soon the visit was over and they headed back to Peach Creek, a weight having been lifted from Angelica's shoulders, all that was left for her to do was wait for the birth and Ed's release hoping her parents wouldn't be too pushy about marriage.

The following Monday all their moods were lifted with the knowledge that Ed and Angelica's futures looked brighter. The day went on without a hitch and they spent their lunch discussing baby showers and names. Kevin enjoyed writing a few suggestions down instead of taking notes in his last class. After the last bell rang and school was let out for the day he goes to his locker to get his things to meet up with Angelica and Ed for the ride home. As he was pulling the last book out of his locker and closing the door a hand rested itself against the locker to his left and he could feel the presents of a body leaning in very closely to him. Turning expecting to see the football team there he was shocked to see Tommy standing there a smile upon his face and a come fuck me look in his eyes. "Hey there stud." The words coming out of Tommy's mouth were like acid to Kevin's ears.

"Hey Tommy, what brings you around?" Kevin was trying to get out from between Tommy and the wall without starting anything his emancipation making him an adult he would be treated harshly if it came to blows.

"Oh where are you going? I just want to talk." Tommy put his other hand on Kevin's arm pulling him in to face him.

"Well I really don't have anything to say to you." Kevin pried his arm free and turned to leave again.

"Oh I think you do. Don't want your dork getting hurt now do we." Kevin stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face Tommy his hands balling up in fists. "That's a good boy. " Tommy smiled at Kevin's compliance. "Nazz isn't really happy you know, and I can be so much more to you than him if you just let me have a chance." He ran his hands through Kevin's red hair, but had his hand smacked away. "Feisty, I like that, why don't you let me show you what you're missing." He locks his lips to Kevin's, Kevin was trying to push him away from him by placing his hand on his arms. Books drop and both boy's look in the direction of the noise to see a shocked Edd, once Kevin made eye contact Edd runs off without letting Kevin get a word in. "Well looks like you don't have to leave him after all, the choice has been made for you. So what do you say stud? I'll take real good care of your needs." Kevin had enough of this and punched him in the jaw and ran after Edd hoping to explain the situation before it was too late. But Edd had already gotten into his car and drove off leaving Kevin and Angelica to walk home.


	34. Let Me be Lonely

Chapter 34 – 11th grade Let Me be Lonely

 **A/N- Wow this is getting interesting, everyone has it out for Nazz right about now. Lord I think by the end of this little bit of drama I'm going to have a mob on my hands. Warnings: Language**

This day had been good for Edd his spirits were high and his life seemed good, his friends outlook on her pregnancy was bright, having the acceptance of her family and the love of her incarcerated boyfriend. He himself was engaged to someone he loved very much and they had the support of their family and friends. He didn't think anything could go wrong this day that is until he rounded the corner heading toward Kevin's locker. Once he looked up, he was hoping to catch the smiling face of his fiancé, but all he saw was Tommy leaning in his lips joined to Kevin's and Kevin's hand upon his arm. His heart dropped to the floor and shattered, so did his books, when both boys looked at him he saw fear in Kevin's eyes, and one word crossed Edd's mind "busted". Edd didn't want to hear Kevin's feeble excuses on what he had just witnessed, which to him looked like a kiss between star crossed lovers, so he ran down the hall he came from as fast as he could not caring who saw.

As he ran Nazz was leaning against the wall a smirk on her face, halfway tempted to stick her foot out and trip the dork as he passed, but decided against it knowing it would only allow Kevin catch up. Kevin ran by a moment later unable to catch the dork, boy " _that dork could run when he wants to_ " she thought to herself. She didn't think this drama would last long between them, but all she needed to do was sow seeds of mistrust between them. Kevin made it to the parking lot of the high school, just in time to witness Edd's car speeding off, he screamed. "Fuck!" Kevin was furious that this could happen, things were going so well between them and now it seemed to be toppling down around him.

As Edd drove wildly away from school with tears streaming down his face all he could think about was how much truth was in that note Nazz had written him. Was Kevin only with him because he was the only choice available at the moment, and now that Tommy had presented himself would Kevin leave him. Tommy was athletic, way hotter than him, and God knows probably better in bed and also a better kisser. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. You were so stupid to believe he wanted you." Edd felt the ring that was on the chain around his neck move. "That's probably why he didn't want me wearing this, so Tommy wouldn't see it." Edd was tempted to throw the ring out the window as he drove down the road, but something stopped him. Call it a small hope, or a need that there was no truth to what he had saw, but he kept the ring right where it was around his neck.

Needing some questioned answered he could only think of one person he could probably get them from that he could trust at this moment, Eddy. Parking his car in the parking space in the alley behind Eddy's house he gets out and heads to the back door. Knocking he waits, hearing the shuffling of feet on the other side of the door he steps back and the door swings open. With tears still lingering in his eyes he speaks. "Good afternoon Mrs. Davis, is Eddy home?"

She looked at him and saw his blood shot eyes and felt a little bit sad for the boy she knew. "No dear not yet, why don't you come on in and wait for him." She steps aside and let's him in the house. She motions for him to go on into the living room and then puts a tea kettle on and waits for it to boil as she looks through her cabinets. "Do you want some earl grey or constant comment, I think I might have some breakfast blend."

"Earl Grey will be fine ma'am." Ed says as sniffles a little, he reaches over for a tissue to dab his eyes with.

Eddy walks into the house as Edd was preparing to blow his nose. Taking one look at the person he still considered his friend, and hoped they did the same, and called out to his mother. "Mom, Edd is going to stay the night ok. If anyone but his parents calls for him he's not here."

She peaks her head out of the kitchen. "That's fine dear, I was going to suggest you two spend some time together. Lord knows the boy needs a friend right about now." She walks over and hand's Edd a cup of tea. "Whatever was keeping you two apart is beyond me, but friends are there for each other regardless of their differences." She walks back into the kitchen and picks up the phone. "I'm just going to go ahead and let his parents know where he is, so they're not worried."

Eddy motions for Edd to follow him after his mother had exited the room, and they made their way down the hall and into Eddy's tiny bedroom. Eddy closed the door behind them, Edd puts his mug down on the night stand and collapses on the bed. "Spill, what did the asshole do to you?"

The memory of what he saw at school came back to him and few tears fall down his cheek, he uses the cuff of his sleeve to whip them away. "I saw him kissing someone else." Edd says between sobs.

Eddy's face crumples up in rage. "Mother fucker, I knew he was no good." Seeing that his outburst was not helping his friend Eddy sits down on the bed and brings Edd's head into his lap. "I'm sorry D, I know you're hurting." Eddy runs his right hand through Edd's hair trying to comfort his friend. "Is there anything I can do for you? Want me to kick his ass again?"

Edd shacks his head, never one to resort to violence even though a small part of him wanted to see Tommy's teeth kicked in. "No Eddy, but thank you, just be my friend right now." Edd wiped away a few more tears from his cheeks and wraps his arm around Eddy's waist. "I just need someone to talk to who isn't going to try and put us face to face right away. I need time to think."

"OK I'm here for you, whatever you need man." Eddy leaned against the wall keeping Edd's head in his lap.

Edd needed to vent and let it all out, he sits up and pulls out the ring shaking it as he spoke rather loudly "You know he proposed to me, and then he goes and does this I'm so conflicted right now, I keep thinking what if it isn't exactly how it looks and Tommy was forcing himself on him." He takes a few breaths to control the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes once more and whispers. "Or have I been a fool all this time and it's all been just a game to him, and he is just using me until something better comes along." Edd looks at the ring in his hand.

Eddy's heart breaks for his friend, he wanted to take him into his arms and comfort him holding him tight and never letting go so he knows he is loved. But Eddy's own personal conflicts stayed his hands, on top of knowing anything at this point with Edd would just be a rebound and he knew he was worth more than that, and would wait for Edd to get over the former jock. "No D you haven't been a fool, maybe a little blind to his bull shit, but never a fool."

"I'm sorry Eddy, I probably shouldn't be dropping all this on you like this, since we haven't spoken in such a long time, I feel like I am imposing on you." Edd sighs and stands up. "I should probably go." And he starts for the door.

Eddy grabs his hand and says. "No D you can stay, it's my fault we haven't been talking, my stupid jealousy and pride kept me from taking the step I should have to clear the air."

"I am just as much to blame about that Eddy, I should have tried a little harder and realized you were just looking out for me." Edd sits back down and looks at Eddy. "Thank you for being here for me now." He gives Eddy a hug that was happily received and returned, as they were bonding again there came a knock at the bedroom door.

After Eddy said to come in his mother peaked her head in. "There's someone at the door for Edd, I told them he's not here but they say they saw his car and are really insistent on seeing him."

Eddy didn't look very happy at this news. "Is he a red head?" She nods, Eddy looks at Edd. "Do you want to talk to him?" Ed shakes his head no, Eddy gets up and walks out of the room and to the front door. Stepping out he looks Kevin in the eyes. "I'm not trying to start anything, but he doesn't want to speak to you at the moment."

Kevin looked a little hurt by this but kept his cool about it. "Is he doing alright?"

Eddy squints his eyes and crosses his arms. "What do you think? He just saw the guy who he's engaged to kiss someone else."

"That isn't how it was, I didn't kiss that guy, he came on to me." Kevin said rather roughly being overly expressive with his hands. "I love Edd and I never want to mess that up."

Kevin's eyes were blood shot and tears were threatening to spill forth, that's when it hit Eddy like a ton of bricks that just maybe Kevin meant every word he said. "I'll talk to him, just give him some time." Eddy opens the door to head back in. "You should probably go, let him calm down and think it over."

"Just tell him I love him please." The look on Kevin's face was pleading, Eddy gives him a small nod and closes the door. Walking back into the bedroom he sees Edd playing with the ring looking at it and a contemplating look in his eyes.

"He wanted me to let you know…." Eddy started but was cut off.

"I heard him from here." Edd was still looking at the ring twirling it upon the chain. "Do you think he was telling the truth?"

"He looked really torn up about it." Eddy sat back down on the bed and Edd put his Head in Eddy's lap again. "I would say yes." Eddy would have normally jumped at this opportunity to get what he wants, but he knew it would cost him his friend permanently and he didn't want to risk that after just getting them back in his life, hopefully. And ultimately his friend's happiness does matter to him, whether we believe it or not from his past actions he did only have Edd's interests in his thoughts. Isn't protecting someone you care about one way to show them you love them, and as misguided as he was that's all he thought he was doing.

"What do you think? Should I forgive him?" Edd put the ring back under his shirt. "He has used me and hurt me before. Like you said it was probably only a matter of time before he did it again."

"Look Edd, I don't know what to think about something I didn't see, and yes I did say that, but I was being an ass." Eddy rubs the bridge of his nose with his fingers and lets out a sigh. "We are all human ok, we make mistakes all of us, and I'm no exception. And as much as a part of me wants to grab the ball and run with it and say I told you so, I know that isn't what you need to hear right now." Eddy takes his hand and puts it under Edd's chin making him look at him. "I love you, probably more then I should, and I want you to be happy. And if he makes you happy I will just have to learn to live with it. So don't let the fact that he has made mistakes before be the whole reason you break up, give him a fair shot and if it turns out he's an ass you always have me."

"Thank you Eddy." Edd roles over and hugs his friend burying his face in his abdomen and letting a few tears slip out.

Eddy rubs the back of his friend's head silently praying to god that he wouldn't have to do this again anytime soon. "Come on, let's go watch a movie, something funny to help get your mind off of this for awhile." They boy's watched a standup comedy special and a Mel Brooks movie Spaceballs, they had Chinese take out that night of Moo Goo Gai Pan, Crab Rangoon and General Sal's Chicken going to bed around nine that night. Eddy slept on the couch in the living room letting Edd take his room for the night. Edd tossed and turned going over and over what he saw and what Kevin said, his logical side _"If he was just using you until someone new came along, why would he bother trying to explain it? Unless what he is saying is true and Tommy came onto him?"_ His emotional side chimes in. _"Oh that's because he has no place to go, Tommy's parents probably aren't ok with him having a live in boyfriend."_ Logic once again. _"You're over reacting, if he didn't care about you wouldn't he have ditched you when Nazz told him to."_ Emotion. _"Well he could have changed his mind he is allowed to do that, and he has gotten what most men our age want since all that has started."_ The tears threaten to spill forth once again. "He's so much better looking than me, they probably have so much more in common both being into sports and he's popular, sure fire way to get back on the A-list. I don't see how I could ever hope to compete with someone like that." This kind of self doubt kept Edd up most of the night, finally falling asleep from exhaustion around three in the morning.


	35. You Won't Believe Me

Chapter 35 – 11th Grade You Won't Believe Me

 **A/N- Now to hit rewind on our story. Oh and for those who don't remember Tommy he is the guy Lee was dating you know the one who went to that pray the gay away camp and helped her spray paint Edd's locker just to refresh your memories on who he is. Warnings: Language**

Once Kevin saw Edd's car leave the parking lot and he had his moment to let out his frustration by screaming some profanities he quickly starts walking back to the school to go find Angelica, he passes Nazz along the way. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Fuck you." Kevin didn't even pause to look in her direction but kept on walking, meeting Angelica at the entrance to the building.

"Where's Edd?" She asks seeing the troubled look in Kevin's eyes.

"A little issue has come up." Seeing the look on her face that told him to spill it he continues. "Tommy came onto me ok and Edd saw him kiss me, but he didn't see it when I was telling that jerk to fuck off. Now he has run off to god knows where, and probably thinks I'm cheating on him."

"So he stranded us here?" She lifts her hand and starts to say something but decides not to at that moment and turns to march off toward the office. "Oh no, wait till I get my hands on that little drama queen. You do not leave a pregnant woman stranded, I don't care what bull shit you're going through." Getting to the office she made a call to her mother, who as luck would have it was just getting off work and headed in their direction. They arrived at the house a little while later, Kevin frantically looking for Edd but as expected he wasn't there. "Did you really expect him to come to the one place he knew for certain he would run into you at?"

"Well do you have any bright ideas where he might be?" Kevin asks and she shrugs her shoulders and like a prayer answered from on high the phone rings and Kevin picks it up.

After giving the appropriate greeting a ladies voice comes through. "Oh yes hello, is Leslie there?"

"No, she hasn't made it home from work yet." Kevin replies.

"Well can you tell her Margie called to let her know that Edd was going to stay over here with Eddy tonight." The friendly lady said a little too upbeat for Kevin's liking at the moment. Well when you're in a bad mood perky isn't your thing.

"I will ma'am and thank you." Hanging up the phone he turns to Angelica. "Well he's over at Eddy's." And before Angelica could ask a question about transportation in walks Leslie, I know a lot of things are being handed on silver platter to these two today. "Momma, can I borrow the car please." Seeing the confused look on her face he continues. "I need to go talk to Edd, please."

"Where's Edd?" Still really confused she just starts handing him the keys.

"Oh he's over at Eddy's." Angelica said the snarky side coming out. "Lots of teenage angst drama that you only get in fan fiction." She starts out the door but calls back to Leslie before closing it. "We'll explain later, now we're off to save the day."

 **Seeing how you all read this part in the last chapter we are skipping forward to their return, if you haven't read it why are you on this chapter then. I suggest you go back and read it.**

Upon arriving home feeling defeated Kevin and Angelica head into the kitchen and sit at the table, Leslie joins them a moment later looking concerned about the expressions on their faces. "Ok will one of you please explain what the hell is going on?"

"Well its like this, Kevin here proposed to Edd a few weeks back." Kevin looks at Angelica like she had just told Slugworth the secret recipe to the everlasting gobstopper.

"You weren't supposed to tell her that Angie." Kevin moans.

"Kevin dear, I found the ring in your drawer a month ago." Leslie said matter-of-factly. "You should really learn how to hide things better, and I pretty much figured you were going to do it anyways after our little talk." She takes in a breath and lets it out in a sigh, better late than never to hear about her son's engagement. "Aw the impatience of youth, just remember what I said, no marriage till after high school" She then motions for Angelica to continue dispensing the drama.

"Well as you know Nazz has been causing drama with Edd and Kevin, it could be just coincidence but a boy made a move on Kevin today and Edd caught the last bit when the boy kissed him." She paused to let everyone get her implication and maybe for a little dramatic effect as well. "So now Edd has run off and is staying over at Eddy's tonight, and won't talk to Kevin, so we are pretty sure he thinks Kevin is cheating on him."

"Kevin, honey, I love my son to death but sometimes he can be a bit of a drama queen." She pats Kevin on the hand and then leans back in the chair again. "Love is hard work at time's kids, don't let anyone ever tell you its smooth sailing. You're going to fight, you're going to have misunderstandings, and sometimes you're going to want to throw something at their heads. But it's how you deal with the hard times that make the good so much more worth wild." She stands and gets herself a cup of ice tea from the refrigerator and offers everyone some and continues as she pours the drinks. "So you're going to have to do something to show him that he matters more to you than anyone else, and hopefully that will get it through his think skull. If that doesn't work I'll smack him around a little and let him know he's being an idiot." After handing them their cups she walks past Kevin and pats him on the shoulder. "I hope that helps dear." And she leaves the room to allow them to contemplate her words a little.

"What do you think I should do?" Kevin pondered this with great thought, he had hoped the engagement would have been enough to show Edd how much he loved him.

"I don't know darling, but we got to do something quickly before Nazz puts anymore doubts into his head." Angelica did have a good point there, if they were going to get this situation turned around they needed to do it fast.

His mind still reeling from the days drama he was unable to think clearly at the moment, and feeling like he was beating his head against a brick wall he address Angelica. "Well I should probably get you home before your parents start to worry about you." She nods in agreement and they both stand up and head out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Mom, I need to borrow the car again to take Angie home."

Leslie just waves him on. "OK well hurry back, you've got school tomorrow." Driving Angelica home Kevin noticed a shop on the corner as they stopped at a red light and a plan started forming in his mind. On the way back home he stops at that shop and does a little browsing asking the clerk a few questions on such things like delivery and fees. Refreshing his knowledge from a previous purchase by asking the meanings behind this item or that item, wanting to get the perfect color and perfect message, wanting there to be no doubt in his dorky fiancé mind what his heart was telling him and where he wanted to be for the rest of his life.

Arriving back home he was carrying a package in his arms that held a pair of items in it, he peaks his head into the living room to see both parents sitting in their recliners watching TV. "Mom, dad, are either of you going to be home tomorrow?"

"Tony will be, why dear?" Leslie asks, curious about what was in the package but realized what it was once she saw the logo.

Kevin rubs the back of his neck and address Tony. "Well there's going to be a delivery for Edd tomorrow, could you put it in his room for me?"

"Alright sport will do." Tony gives a little thumbs up to Kevin, giving him his thanks Kevin turns and then heads upstairs and calls Angelica.

"Hey Angie I think I might have come up with something, but I'll need your help." He knew her answer before she spoke it. They spent the remainder of their time before having to go to bed coming up with a plan to show that hard headed dork just how much he meant to Kevin. And if it didn't work, there was always plan B letting mama bear straighten him out, not that they thought it would come to that but it was still funny to joke about. Help will be needed and Kevin was counting on her to help him get it.

 **A/N- Oh for those who don't know why I call this the Nina Simone arch it is because of the titles of these chapters. They are the first two verses of her song Love Me or Leave Me. If you haven't ever heard of or listened to this divine woman before I highly suggest her, it's very powerful music in a pivotal time in our countries history.**


	36. But I Love You Only

Chapter 36 – 11th Grade But I Love You Only

 **A/N- Go Kevin go get you some. Warnings : Misogynistic Behavior and Language**

The following day was Tuesday, Kevin and Angelica rode the bus to get to school. Kevin had to take extra care that morning for he didn't want the package he was carrying to get destroyed by some careless teenager before it was delivered into the hands of the person it was intended for. Eddy and Edd took their separate cars to school that day, that way Edd could just go straight home afterwards and face the fallout from his emotional episode the day before. Tired and desperately not wanting to be at school this day, desiring several more hours of sleep, he didn't care that he was in the same clothes he was in the previous day. Though he knew he had to face whatever outcome that yesterday's events might have in store for him, he was determined to avoid Kevin as much as possible today, mostly out of fear and a need to continue calling him his boyfriend for just a little longer. This same fear also drove him to avoid Angelica, afraid of what the girl might have to tell him and what she might do to him for stranding her yesterday. This made her task of talking to Edd so she could calm him down a little and make him more receptive to Kevin's plans very difficult. She tried her best to corner her hard headed dorky friend before their first class, but failed miserably at it, so she went on to step two of the plan hoping step one would work itself out and that step two would be more receptive to playing well with others.

For step two she needed the help of an obnoxious old time scam artist and his knack for coming up with ideas that are just dumb enough to maybe work. Cornering him after their first class was over she quickly drags him into the library and in-between the bookshelves having to talk quickly before their small break was over. "Alright I need your help Eddy."

"With what mama, I thought you were Ed's girl, and I don't encroach on another man's territory." Eddy said turning his head away from her as to not meet her gaze.

Smacking him in the arm for multiple reasons she continues. "Not with that you perv." She riffles through her purse looking for an item to give to him. "I need your help correcting this bull shit drama between Kevin and Edd." Finding it she hands it to Eddy.

He takes the CD from here and looks at it with funny expression. "What's this for?"

"Well first I need you to get Edd to the lunch room and then help me keep him there. Second I need that playing preferably over the stage speakers in the cafeteria" The cafeteria in this small school was a multipurpose room, it had the stage where any band performance or play was held. So it had a reasonably decent sound system on it that would suite her purposes.

"Why should I help you? Shouldn't we just let them figure this out on their own?" Eddy was being stubborn as usual, trying to turn over a new leaf and stop sticking his nose in other people's love lives.

She huffed with frustration they were running out of time to talk. "You love Edd don't you, you want to see him happy? Well Kevin makes him happy and this little misunderstanding could ruin both their chances at happiness." She turns to walk away and calls over her shoulder as she left. "Just help me make them happy." Now on to step three, keeping Eddy on task. After their second class both Angelica and Kevin walked by him and she asks as they pass. "Did you do that thing I asked yet?"

He only waves his hand flippantly at her and replied. "Ya Ya I'm on it." And he quickly made a B line to the cafeteria, scurrying in and quietly making his way to the far end of the room he ducks behind the curtain. Flipping on the equipment so it would be ready when the time comes and praying no one noticed it. Turning down the volume to the speakers he puts the CD in and hits stop once it loads so that all he had to do was turn up the volume and hit play when the time came. After their third class a reminder was given to bring Edd to lunch, yet again he gives his flippant response and a mad dash to where Edd was. Finding the boy at his locker he leans against the one next to it and breathes heavily to catch his breath. "Hey sock head, you were out of the house so quickly this morning Mom didn't have the chance to give you your lunch." He takes a few more breaths finally calming down from his jog. "So just meet me at lunch and I'll give it to you."

Edd just casually pulls the book for his next class out of his lock and closes the door. "That's very nice of her, please thank her for me. But I think I am going to spend my lunch out on the lawn today."

Eddy gives him a puzzled look and tries to get him to change his mind. "Dude, its fucking cold out there remember, it's only January."

Edd started toward his next class walking at a decent speed. "Sorry Eddy I just really don't want to run into Kevin."

Doing his best to catch up to his friend Eddy gets a little desperate. "Come on man, it will be like old time, we haven't eaten together in forever. And if shovelchin shows up I'll kick him to the curve for you, plus I got the new X-Men comic you can read."

Seeing that his friend wasn't going to give up so easily Edd finally agrees. "Alright Eddy if you insist, I would be happy to accompany you to lunch today."

"Cool I'll see you then." And Eddy made another mad dash toward his classroom and passed Kevin and Angelica along the way giving them a thumbs up as he went by. Everything was set and ready, just one more class to get through and Kevin could throw in his bid for the heart of his dork and hope it was caught and accepted. This final class before lunch could not end fast enough in Kevin's opinion, he kept watching the clock the painful ticking of the second hand driving him mad with anticipation. A watched pot never boils came to his mind and he did his best to try and pay attention to the boring lecture the teacher was giving, tapping his foot on the ground or fidgeting with the pen in his hand instead of writing notes. The bell that rang was music to his ears but also brought a dread to his heart the likes of which he has never known in his short life, he was about to expose himself in such a way that if rejected he wasn't certain if he could recover from it. Scenarios kept running through his head as he made his way to his locker, Edd accepting what he was about to do and the two of them running off into the sunset together. Utter rejection and Edd fleeing from him with a tear stained face breaking his heart not only for himself but for the pain his love was in. Driving these thoughts from his mind he puts his books away in his locker and closed the door, stealing his resolve to do what he can to win the heart of the one he cared for and hopefully banishing his loves fears of his intentions toward him forever.

Eddy waited for Edd by the entrance to the cafeteria, lunch bag and comic book in hand he leaned against the wall. Catching sight of his charge he waves him over. "God and you say I'm late all the time."

"My apologies Eddy, I had a few question to ask the teacher about the upcoming test." Since Ed's incarceration both Kevin and Edd have decided to give up pot and concentrate on more productive things in their life. This gave rise to Edd being more studious with his school work and a new hope that he might be able to get into a good college.

"Well let's hurry up and get in here already before they take all the good seats." Leading his friend into the room Eddy made his way to the far end of the cafeteria, toward the stage. Letting Edd sit down first he sits next to his friend and hands him the book and starts digging out the lunch his mom had prepared for them, hoping to get a few bits in before Kevin's plan and his suspension started. Edd was nibbling on a slice of apple enjoying the new comic in his hand when someone sat down on the opposite side of him from Eddy. Looking up from his book he sees Angelica sitting there, a little apprehensive about this knowing she was going to start with some sort of lecture about yesterday he tries to get up.

But both Angelica and Eddy's hands took him by the shoulder and pushed him back down in his seat. "It's for your own good Edd." She says with a smile upon her face, Edd looks over when he hears the seat next to him move out to only find Eddy walking away.

"What's for my own good? What do you have up your sleeve young lady?" A knot was forming in the pit of his stomach, a bundle of nerves that told him he was in for it and had been abandoned by his friend to boot, whether the outcome was good or bad he was stuck here to find out. And both sides of his mind were fighting to figure out which it was going to be, luckily logic got it right and his emotional side was left to watch what happened next.

A soft music started playing over the stages speakers at a relatively low volume for them, Eddy's way of hoping the teachers wouldn't notice to quickly. The song was "I've got you under my skin" by Michael Buble, and the cafeteria went nearly quite that Edd could hear the footsteps of a certain red head walking up behind him. Turning to see the person he had hoped and fear it was going to be his eyes started to water up, in the Kevin's hands was two roses intertwined one red and one white. Kevin stops in front of Edd giving him a warm nervous smile and softly says. "Hey, I missed you." Falling to one knee in front of the whole school he presents the flowers to Edd. "I don't ever want to be apart from you, and if you'll let me I would like to say it so the whole world knows." Desperate loving green eyes meet tear filled apologetic blue, Edd couldn't find any words at the moment but he knew Kevin was waiting for permission to go forward, and in the best way he could communicate at the moment he nods his head. "Eddward Vincent, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Two tears of joy fell down Edd's cheeks, there was no doubt in his mind now. It was clear to him now that he was over reacting yesterday and his emotional side slapped him for it, even though that was the side that caused it in the first place. Stammering for words still Angelica nudges him from behind and whispered. "This is where you're supposed to say yes darling."

Edd stammered a little more and finally found his voice. "Y-yes, oh absolutely yes." Kevin's smile almost hurt his face and as he leaned in to kiss the one he loved with all his heart they were both pleasantly surprised to be met by a few cheers from their classmates. It appears that showing them a healthy happy gay relationship was swaying some of their opinions, and those who were on the fence about it in the beginning were now jumping on board that ship. Hearing the cheers Eddy looked out from the curtain to see a happy sight, he quickly turned off the music grabbed the CD and ran for the hills happy he didn't get caught and he was planning on keeping it that way.

After a few moments and shared kisses, Kevin took the ring that was around Edd's neck and took it off the chain it was on, he placed that ring where it rightfully belongs upon Edd's left ring finger. "Now it's where it should have been from the beginning."Kevin kissed him on the forehead then gets up into the seat next to Edd, they spent the rest of the lunch period ignoring the rest of the world as they intertwined their fingers together, heads nuzzling one another as they whispered their affections for one another and Kevin admired the hand that held the ring that was his promise to Edd.

 **A/N- A red and white rose presented together means unity, the roses intertwined together means marry me. So now I hope everyone is happy with the resolution of the Nina Simone arch and we all have our fluffy feels and are on cloud nine. But like Jabba's palace one should never trust their footing.**


	37. Strange Fruit

Chapter 37 – 11th Grade Strange Fruit

 **A/N- Yes the title is another Nina Simone song you can listen to it if you like but I would suggest waiting for the prompt in the chapter before you start it. I'm sorry darlings (disappears into the darkness to hide.) Warnings: Language, Homophobic Language, Violence and I'm sorry you might not want to look. Princess belongs to Dshell99.**

Obsession is a strange thing with neither rhyme nor reason to it, it can take a perfectly normal person and change them drastically so that they are but a shadow of themselves. It has varying degrees to it like all things in this world, some that are not so bad, like a teenage girl who is actually happy that the pop star on stage just vomited on her because he can't hold his liquor. And others that can ruin lives, like a person who has a normal nine to five job three kids and faithful partner climbing a wall so they can break into a actors house just to sniff their undergarments. I know to all of us both these examples seem unbelievable and we must think they have some sort of mental illness to do that, but it's just a simple case of obsession. And for those whose obsession has crossed the line of normal rational thought, will justify their actions in such a way that the rest of us will truly believe they are nuts. Nazz is no different, she is obsessed with the way things should be, in her mind certain people are better than others and the two groups should never intermingle. Not to mention a certain jocks and dorks infatuation with each other ruining her ideal image and the way she perceives her reputation, getting snubbed for a dork how could she have fallen so low. Sure Kevin's bi but what does the dork have that she doesn't, what can he offer that she can't and then some. Kevin should be by her side, if not with her then with someone that suites the station he should have at this school. She blamed Kevin's fall from the popular clique all on Edd, if it wasn't for that dork Kevin could still be right where he belonged, at the top of the food chain _. "But that no good mother fucking piece of shit faggot had to go and ruin it all, and if I had my way that bent bastard wouldn't be worthy to lick the shit off of Kevin's boots."_ She raged to herself as she left the cafeteria that day, witnessing Kevin's proposal to Edd was the straw that broke the camel's back and she was pissed. Lesson's needed to be taught and who else was the perfect teacher in the curriculum of social do's and don'ts then Nazz.

Edd and Kevin left the cafeteria hand in hand deep smiles placed upon their faces barely paying any attention to their surroundings as they made their way back to the lockers to retrieve their books for the next class. More concerned with staring in each other's eyes and continuing to whisper their affections to one another that Angelica had to be their eyes and let them know a few times that they were going to run into someone. "You two need to pay a little more attention to the road." Eddy huffed." I know you two need to make up for lost time and all, but god I'm about to get a cavity you two are just too sweet." He pushes past them to move faster down the hall to his next class.

"Don't listen to him, you two go on and rock your mad love." She leans in on the two of them over their shoulders and gives them a quick kiss on each of their cheeks. "I'm so happy for you two." She scotches around them and looking back as she walked she gives a little wave goodbye. Kevin was walking on clouds right now, literally he was so enraptured with looking at his fiancé that he couldn't tell if his feet were even touching the ground. The smile on his loves face made his heart's pace quicken to such a degree that he thought it was going to jump out of his chest and scream hallelujah to the heavens. He walked Edd to his locker leaning against the next one as Edd got his books, then to his own grabbing the wrong book a few times and then escorted Edd to his class wanting to buy as much time as he could before they were separated again by the strict standards of having to be in class. As Edd let go of his hand to enter his classroom, a desire came over Kevin to snatch the boy up and run out of the building and drive to the creek so he could make love to the only person he ever wanted to be with. Reluctantly letting go of Edd's hand he watched the boy walk to his desk to sit down, he then turned to walk to his own class, not making it before the tardy bell rang, but he really didn't care.

The rest of the day pretty much went like this Kevin would meet Edd at his locker and walk him to his class then make his way to his own class. Nazz was getting frustrated, the more she saw them together the more her anger and hatred for the raven haired dork would grow. _"Just who does he think he is? He doesn't belong there, Kevin is to good for him. And that ring for fuck sake, looks so cheap and tawdry."_ Nazz was staring daggers in the back of Edd's head as she followed them down the hall, not paying attention to the fact that she had passed her last class. _"Why won't Kevin realize he deserves better? Why can't he see that they don't really match? Why didn't he accept the person I tried to set him up with?"_ Nazz was already passed her mental breaking point, but her obsession with this just wouldn't let her realize that this way of thinking is unhealthy and dangerous. She breathed in, she  needed to resolve this situation, and she needed to come up with a plan and way to stop this wrong in her eyes. She decided she need to think this thing through clearly while not staring the issue in the face, but her thoughts would be anything but clear for the time being.

Over the course of the next week she watched the boy's walking down the hall holding hands. _"Don't touch him queer."_ Nuzzling their heads in the cafeteria while whispering to each other with big smiles on their faces. _"You're not worthy of him."_ Catching them kissing as they said their goodbyes at classroom doors. _"Stop corrupting his heart you fairy."_ Her thoughts grew darker and darker toward Edd, and she was beginning to feel the strain on her life and it needed to stop right now. The following week the boys had started loosening their grip on each other's hips, and falling back into a normal routine giving each other space to be themselves and actually include their friends in their lives. _"Finally, I was beginning to think those two were Siamese twins."_ Little did the boy's know but a plan had been hatched over the course of last week that was fueled by her obsession and a couple of other people's hatred.

It was a normal Friday like any other, the boys had lunch together with their friends, Eddy included. Walked each other to their classes and kissed their goodbyes at each door. The Final bell rang for the day and they made their way to Edd's car, as they made their way across the parking lot Edd fumbled around his bag trying to find his keys. "Damn it." He said once he had made the third check of each pocket.

Kevin looked at him curiously. "What's wrong babe?"

"I seem to have misplaced my keys, they probably fell out in the locker. I'll be right back." He turns and runs as fast as his little legs could carry him back into the building to check his locker and retrace his steps in case they were on the floor. Not finding them on his way back to his locker or inside it he begins to walk toward the office to see if they had been turned in. As he came off the last step in the stairwell two sets of hands grab him under his shoulders and a third set belonging to Nazz put duct tape on his mouth. They drug him out the exit at the bottom of the stairs and toward the football field that was nearby and not being used at the moment due to the season. Running the short distance rather easily, the two carrying him being use to rigorous activity due to their football training, they enter the field and deposit him roughly under the goal post. His back hits the padding at the base of the post his head bouncing against it as well sending stars shining in his eyes. Shaking his head to clear his mind he looks at his assailants and was again met with the two from the previous attacks along with Nazz and her boy toy boyfriend. The mentality of the enemy of my enemy was all that bound Nazz and the two jocks in allegiance, for they weren't acting to kindly to her orders. "Tie him up." She barked to one of them.

"Who the fuck do you think you are bitch." Still remembering how she had them beat only a few months ago in the bathroom.

"Look boys, we are teaching him a lesson and we don't need him getting away too easily." She stressed her point to the thick headed jock.

He swings his foot back and strikes Edd in the stomach toppling him on his side. "I don't think he's going anywhere princess."

Squatting down in front of Edd's face she looks at him in disgust. "You couldn't take the hint's I was dropping you. You couldn't leave well enough alone could you? It's because of you that your friend is in jail, it's because of you Kevin will suffer, and if you don't cut your losses now and run that bitch friend of yours will have a little accident and lose her child, all because of you." Edd's fear was running rampant, Nazz had lost her shit and Edd didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to get himself out of this situation unharmed or alive for that matter. The look in Nazz's eyes was the closest Edd had ever come to seeing maniacal hatred

Grabbing Nazz by the shoulder and pushing her down to the ground the other boy came in and kicked Edd in the stomach and chest. "You know what queen bitch there is one sure fire way to correct this situation." Another kick to the face this time and he looks at his friend. "Get the rope."

 **If you want to listen to Nina Simone's Strange Fruit here is where I suggest you start the song.**

Edd had been gone for far too long and Kevin was beginning to worry, Angelica was already at the car waiting with him. Eddy pulls up beside the vehicle and rolls down his window. "What did Sockhead leave you guys stranded again?"

Kevin shakes his head. "No he misplaced his keys." Looking at the pocket watch Edd got him to see what time it was his heart sank, it was taking too long to just check his locker. Even if he had to go to the office he should have been out by now. "I'm going to go look for him, I'm getting a bad feeling." Eddy parks the car and gets out following Kevin into the building. Angelica went to the office Kevin to the locker and Eddy checking a few other areas on the ground floor, meeting all back up once again. "Anything?" Kevin said frantically the pit in his stomach growing with each passing second, both of them shook their heads. Frantically they ran through the school looking for the raven haired dork, the library nothing, the cafeteria nothing, his last classroom nothing.

A flash of a memory long forgotten of a football field and a young woman in a white and black dress along with her gentle voice _"remember."_ Kevin makes a mad dash toward the field with Eddy calling out after him and Angelica in tow, his heart only hoped it wasn't too late, admonishing himself for leaving the boy alone while Nazz's threat was still an issue.

The jock came walking back with twenty feet of rope in his hands, tying a noose at one end, the other continued to pummel Edd if he moved an inch Nazz was barely ok with the direction this was going. But she was somehow justifying it to herself, the ends justify the means the dork will be gone she will have Kevin back and she will be the one to comfort him winning his trust again. Like I said obsession rationalizes things that really should not be rationalized. Reaching the goal post he flings the rope over and brings the noose down to his friend, taking it he lifts Edd's head and secures it punching Edd in the face when he struggles to free himself from the rope. Both boys taking the other end of the rope give it a hard yank pulling Edd up into a sitting position by the neck rather quickly, quickly yanking again and he is on his feet with no time to adjust or to free himself, readying themselves for another yank on the rope one of them says enthusiastically. "Let's see this fag dance." And they pull the rope hard once more and Edd is off his feet and dangling a foot off the ground, his feet kicking his hands at the rope trying to free his air ways so he could bring in oxygen to his lungs.

Another yank and Edd is four feet off the ground his neck is just shy of a foot from the goal post bottom rung. His feet were still flailing, his fingers still trying desperately to get the rope off his neck and his lungs heaving trying to suck in air. Nothing was working and he could see his vision starting to blur, his body was starting to grow tired from the lack of oxygen and his mind started to become foggy. The desperation was subsiding the world went black and his hands fell to the side of his body he went limp and dangled motionless from the goal post he hung from.

 **A/N- Thank you for calling but I am currently in hiding, if you would like to leave a message please hang up and try again. If you found this message in error please press 1 for the what the fuck department 2 for the holy shit technical support and 3 for the get back here and fix this operator.**


	38. There's A Light

Chapter 38 – 11th grade There's A Light

 **A/N-OK now to fix this mess of drama I have started Princess belongs to Dshell99. Warnings: Violence, Language**

They burst out of the door from the school, Kevin and Eddy running at full speed toward the football field, Angelica following at a slower pace. Only getting a short distance from the school she could see a figure suspended from the goal post thrashing as it hung there, knowing she would be little help to them in that direction she turns around and heads back into the building at a quick run, she heads down the hall to the office. She slammed through the door startling the staff that was still in the room tears falling from her eyes fighting sobs and trying to catch her breath at the same time she screams "Help."

A few members of the staff come around the counter to try and comfort and calm her so they could find out what the problem was. "What is it? What's the matter Angelica?"

Continuing to sob her breath coming erratically, desperate to get out what needed to be said and quickly, she swallows and continues." There's a-a body hanging from th-the goal post, oh god I think it's Edd." She nearly collapses on the floor her knees were giving out from the shock that Edd could be dying and here she was trying to give these people information.

Barely understanding what she said through her sobs the lady at the counter asks. "What's this about a body."

Angelica having enough of the conversation just grabs her wrist and starts dragging her out the door. "Hurry he could be dying." After instructing the other staff member to call the cops and an ambulance, four staff members started following Angelica down the hall at a run. Exiting the door and heading to the field Angelica could no longer see the body on the post.

As Kevin ran to the field he sees the body dangling on the post his fears were realized and he used every ounce of strength he had to get there as quickly as he could. Bounding over the chain link fence both he and Eddy continued their dash to the post, seeing four people as they neared Kevin aimed for the two holding the rope and charged. Bringing his shoulder down he tackled the first knocking the second over, effectively sending Edd toppling to the ground. Lifting the person slightly in the air upon his shoulder he slams them into the ground, their head bouncing off the turf knocking them out cold. Taking a second to survey his surroundings he sees Eddy swinging a pip at Nazz's boyfriend causing the boy to flee, Nazz running from the scene in a panic after being discovered. Asshole number two still lying on the ground near where he stood. Straddling him Kevin starts punching the guy in the face over and over again, tears clouding his vision as he swung his fist. Eddy having chased off the other two returned to where Kevin was and had to pull him off the guy he was punching so he wouldn't kill him. A split second and Kevin's mind is refocused on what mattered most, he moves over to the body laying on the ground and removes the noose from his neck. Edd was not breathing and he had no pulse, Kevin instinctively starts breathing into Edd's mouth forcing the lungs to expand, clasping his hands together he starts to compress on Edd's chest. "Eddy I need your help."

Eddy had been keeping an eye on the two football players on the ground with the pipe in hand in case they got back up and started trouble. Coming over to Kevin he looks at him and asks. "What do you want me to do?"

"Breath in his mouth and check his pulse." Kevin stops the compressions and Eddy forces air into the lungs. Kevin begins the compressions again while Eddy checks for a pulse looking at Kevin his expression telling the jock all he needed to know. Angelica and the office staff come running up to the scene, two of them keeping an eye on the jocks on the ground being pretty sure they were the culprits of this act of violence. The receptionist went to the entrance way of the stadium to direct the cops and ambulance in their direction, and the forth staff member helped Kevin with the chest compressions switching off with him. "Come on Edd please wake up." Kevin said through sobs as he watched through tear stained eyes as the man continued the compressions and Eddy breathing into Edd's mouth.

Edd sits up and looks around taking in his surroundings, the football field was quiet and still. There were no football jocks trying to kill him, no Nazz spewing her hatred for him, no one to be seen at all. The air was still, no noise could be heard from the outside world what noise he produced as he moved his legs across the grass to stand sounded muffled to his ears. Looking around more he noticed that beyond the stadium the world seemed to be shrouded in fog, he could not see the school that was barely one hundred yards away or the street in the opposite direction the fog was so thick. The air was a comfortable temperature for this time of year, feeling more like spring then winter. "Hello Eddward." A voice comes through clear and undistorted. Edd looks around but does not see the source of the voice. "Up here." Looking up he sees a beautiful African American girl with a curly afro perched atop the goal post, wearing from what he could tell a red Chinese style dress.

Pushing off she gently falls to the ground with little to no force from her fall. "Who are you?" Getting a better look at her, the dress was red silk with a black Chinese dragon going down the left side and gold flames spewing from its open mouth.

Positioning herself right in front of him so they were almost touching she leans in and whispers in his ear." That is unimportant right now, what is important is that you are not suppose to be here yet."

"I don't understand." Edd slightly turned his head to look in her eyes from the side of his vision.

She only slightly smiled and leaned back. "It's not your time, you have a lot of life yet to live, and a man who really loves you waiting for you." As she spoke Edd could see a distortion forming some twenty feet behind her, as though time and space were warping in on itself. Growing bigger it opens, shining a light upon the two of them. Figures could be seen walking in their direction as though they were waiting to greet him and welcome him into their open arms with love and caring. As they neared he recognized their faces, even though he had only seen them in old photographs , His great Aunt Edith her mother and his great Grandmother Bernice and her husband John. The pull to walk forward and join his family was becoming greater as he continued to look in their direction, seeing this Princess raises her hand and snaps her finger in front of his face drawing his attention to her. "Edd you need to wake up."

"Why? That place is filled with so much pain and people who want to hurt me because I'm different." Sadness was lingering in his eyes, but his soul knew it wasn't over the people who hurt him, it was more for the people he would leave behind.

"Yes the world his hard and mean and cruel." She replied her eyes mimicking the sadness in his own. "But it is also filled with love, joy and hope for a brand new start. A kiss, a word, a promise to be kept. A walk, a vow a life with no regret. There is so much more then the pain you feel right now, remember those who bring you joy and love when times are darkest and a light will always lead you down your path."

Looking over her shoulder again he sees his Aunt Debbie who died from breast cancer a few years ago. "But they love me to?" He starts to move forward only to be stopped by Princess hand upon his chest.

She opens her mouth but instead of just her voice he could hear another that started off quiet but grew louder at the end. "Edd please wake up, please." It was Kevin's voice, she pushes him with her hand and Edd falls over onto the grass.

Edd started breathing and Eddy could feel a very week pulse, but his eyes did not open. "His hearts beating." Eddy called out, Kevin puts his hands over his eyes as tears begin to fall saying a quiet thank you to God for sparing Edd's life that day. The EMT's arrived shortly after and push everyone out of the way sp they could do their jobs, quickly checking his pulse and breathing they lift him onto the gurney and place an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. The cops were placing the two jocks in handcuffs and yanked them to their feet to walk them to the patrol cars to answer for their crimes, Eddy was giving his statement to a third cop off to the side.

The EMT's lift the gurney and start toward the ambulance as quickly as they could, Kevin and Angelica following right behind them. They slide Edd into the back of the vehicle and start to close the door, but Kevin stopped it. "I'm going with him." The EMT looked at him with an I don't think so look plastered on his face. "He's my fiancé and I'm going." The EMT rolls his eyes a little but allows Kevin inside. Edd lay their motionless on the gurney, the only movement was his head bobbing when the vehicle shifted as it drove down the road with sirens blaring. The only sign that Edd was still alive was the faint beep of the heart monitor and the fog that filled the mask as Edd exhaled, Kevin kept a tight grip on Edd's hand while trying to stay out of the EMT's way as he did his job. A deep bruise and cuts were on Edd's neck from where the rope had dug into his skin as it suspended him off the ground, the pain and fear Edd had gone through drove Kevin crazy he had only wished he had killed the bastards that did this to him.

The ambulance reached the hospital and both EMT's pull the gurney out of the back and through the sliding doors, yelling the information to the nurse who followed them through the emergency room doors. Kevin was following close behind but was stopped by another nurse. "You're going to have to wait out here son."

"But I'm his fiancé, I need to be with him." Kevin said rather desperately.

"But they don't need you in their way." She hands him a clip board and points to the seats. "If you could fill this out for us and wait over there, a doctor will be with you as soon as they can, and we will let you know when you can see him."

Kevin takes the clipboard from her and asks where the phones were, picking it up and calling Edd's mother, he found that she had already been informed by Angelica and was on her way there already. He gave her all the info he had on Edd's condition which wasn't much, and did his best to calm her nerves and reassure her that Edd was going to be alright. Hanging up the phone he goes back to the waiting area to see Eddy and Angelica already there, Angelica had tears falling down her face while Eddy was putting up a tough front but you could tell he was hurting. Kevin sits down to start filling out the paperwork to the best of his ability, not knowing insurance information, social security number or if he had previous operations. Edd's mother arrived and Kevin stands to bring her into a hug, comforting her as she cried into his chest. "How's he doing?"

Kevin breathes in a few times to calm his emotions before responds to her. "They haven't told me anything yet. I'm assuming they are running tests on him, I'm still waiting for a doctor to come out and let us know."

She removes herself from his hold to look him in the eyes and she gives a knowing nod of her head and walks over to the nurses' station to try and get some information on her son's condition. Coming back to let them know that Edd was undergoing CT scans and a few other tests to make sure the blood was flowing properly and his air ways were not constricted. While they waited on the doctor to come and talk to them two police officers came and took down Kevin's statement and checked if Edd was able to give his statement but was turned away by the nurse. Giving a card to Leslie and asking her to let them know when Edd was awake and ready to talk to them, they assured her that they were already in the process of arresting those responsible for this. She thanked them and returned to her seat after they left, they continued to wait but whenever they asked for information no one seemed to have anything new to tell them on Edd's condition. They continued to sit in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs Angelica resting her head on one of Kevin's shoulders Leslie on the other. An hour and a half after they arrived a doctor finally comes out and asks for them. "You're the family of Eddward Vincent?" They nodded to her question, Leslie was holding Kevin's hand tightly barely able to breathe. "The good news is his trachea is undamaged and air flow is unrestricted, blood flow is also looking good." Their hearts were lifted at this news and unsure smiles crossed their faces only to fall again. "The bad news though is he is in a coma from the blood restriction his brain suffered from the strangulation, and the CT scans show signs of brain damage."

Leslie had to lean on Kevin for support she felt her knees giving way. "Do you know how bad it is?"

"It is not extensive only a small portion of his brain was damaged, but he will still show signs of it the exact symptom of which we will not know until he wakes up." The doctor said as she flipped through her charts to double check the information.

"May we see him?" Kevin said as held Leslie up with his right arm around her waist clutching her hand with his left hand, she was dabbing her eyes with a Kleenex.

"Yes you may, he is right this way." The doctor lead them down the hall to the ICU wing, only Kevin and Leslie were permitted to enter his room, as they are small rooms with sliding glass doors, only housing one bed that takes up most of the space. Edd was lying in the bed, two tubes down his throat, the doctor explains that one is a feeding tube the other is a ventilator to help him breathe. IV's stuck in one hand while wires were attached to his chest to monitor his vitals. Kevin holds Edd's hand rubbing his thumb against Edd's giving the boy some stimulus, having heard it can help people in comas if you talk to them or hold their hand.

The doctor left them so they could have some privacy, a tear falls down Kevin's cheek. "I should have been there mama, If I had walked back with him none of this would have happened." Kevin breaks down in tears squeezing Edd's hand a little more.

"Kevin, you can't blame yourself for other people's hatred." She wipes away a tear of her own. "You saved his life, right now we need to pray that he gets better and be strong for him when he wakes up." She puts her hand on Kevin's hand that was clasping Edd's and gives it a gentle pat then grips the both of them. Leslie sits on the bed humming a little lullaby to her son as she brushes his bangs to one side. Their visit was only interrupted when Edd's father showed up a short time later with a change of clothes for the both of them knowing neither of them would be leaving Edd's side this weekend. Going back out to the ICU waiting room they let Angelica and Eddy know what was going on with Edd, and letting the nursing staff know that they were allowing them to go see Edd, while they headed down to the hospital cafeteria to get a quick bite to eat. While eating Leslie received a phone call from one of the detectives on the case letting her know that they had the last two suspects in custody and where sending the information to the DA to await his decision, he also informed her that it was a good chance that all four of them would be treated as adults in this case. Finally they could breathe a sigh of relief that those responsible would stand trial for what they did to Edd. All that they could do now was wait and pray that Edd would wake up soon, and that whatever brain damage he suffered, God would guide him to a path of quick recovery and help give them the strength to walk it with him.

 **A/N- I hope you all can breathe a sigh of relief yourselves now, he is alive not well but alive.**


	39. Karma

Chapter 39 – 11th grade Karma

 **A/N- Let the healing begin I hope you all enjoy the first little bit here. Warnings: Violence, homophobic language**

Ah poor Mitchell, when he suggested hanging the fag he thought he was doing the lords work, at least that is what he was taught most of his life. From his pastor who preached that "Queers are an abomination", to his parents and grandparents that kept saying "Fags are ruining this country" and "God's wrath is coming because this country harbors queers", to his classmates who made all those gay jokes. He was pretty certain he knew how people felt about homosexuals and was at this moment having trouble seeing how man's law outweighed his view of biblical law, and even as he was put in handcuffs and placed in the back of the police cruiser he knew god would right this injustice. How right he was to think that last part, being a minor the police could not hold him in the jail down town, so they had to ship him to the juvenile detention center in Cherry Hills two hours north of Peach Creek. Angelica who was following the four assailants cases closely made a little phone call to a certain tall Ed boy who was also incarcerated at Cherry Hills, explaining all that had transpired to her boyfriend. She had to calm him down several times as she explained Edd's situation to him, finally she got to the part where one of them were heading in his direction, and to say that Ed was looking forward to greeting his new prison mate would be a vast understatement.

Having been incarcerated for two months and being the likable sort, Ed had already made several acquaintances there that wouldn't mind saying hello to the new guy with him. On Mitchell's first day at the institution several nice gentlemen gave him an invitation he could not refuse to his welcoming party, anyone who has ever been in the military knows this party as a blanket party. Generally while you sleep two people hold your blanket down tight so you can't move, and everyone else in your dorm comes by with a bar of soap in a sock and hits you with it as hard as they can, the soap is malleable so it hurts like hell but doesn't leave a mark. So imagine fifty people walking by hitting you as hard as they can with a bar of soap in the chest and stomach and you can't do anything about it or have proof that it even happened. And this continued for the first three nights of Mitchell's stay, until on the forth morning poor Mitchell was no were to be found. Everyone in the dorm assumed that he couldn't handle it and was either sent to the hospital or transferred out, the guards on the other hand were baffled and considered him an escapee. His other three accomplices were lucky having been transferred to different centers, law enforcement not wanting them in close proximity to each other.

Back at Peach Creek Memorial Hospital Kevin and Leslie barely left Edd's side that weekend, only going home to sleep because the nurses made them due to visiting hours being over at the ICU and they couldn't let them stay. Kevin found it hard to sleep, wracked with guilt over his fiancé's condition, he tossed and turned most of the night only managing to get one or two hours of sleep before waking up in the morning to go back to the hospital and read to Edd, hoping the outside stimulus would help him wake up. When Monday rolled around again Kevin was bound and determined not to go to school. "But why momma, school can wait, I need to be there if he wakes up."

Leslie gave him a stern look but put her foot down. "No young man you're going, Tony and I will be there today and we will let you know if there is any change." Seeing the look in his eyes she adds. "Honey I know ok, but you have responsibilities and because you're not married yet, the school will hold it against you." She caressed his cheek with her right hand. "Besides when he wakes up you'll need those days to help him through the initial rough patch."

He clasps his hand to hers and nods, knowing she was right, he needed to save what days he had left to help Edd out. Getting his things ready he grabs Edd's car keys and heads to school, as he enters the building he notices people staring and whispering as he passes. Sure he should be use to it by now but the emotional stress of having his loved one in the hospital was making him uncomfortable having the rumor mill discuss last Fridays events. Who knew how many variations were floating around by now, even during the weekend rumors seem to fly in this school. He makes his way to his locker, where both Angelica and Eddy were waiting for him, taking out what he needed for his first class he looks over at them to see their questioning looks. "Nothing's changed yet, mom and dad will let me know if it does."

Angelica looks like she was walking on egg shells as she spoke. "But shouldn't you be there with him?" Eddy looks from her to him eagerly waiting for his answer.

"Mom thinks its best that I am here, says I need to keep my time off for when he wakes up." His thoughts returning to the bed side he so wanted to be at.

Eddy piped up with a little eagerness in his statement, thinking this might cheer Kevin up. "So Angie here got a hold of big Ed for us."

"Hmm, Why?" Kevin looked a little puzzled, having been in the hospital all weekend he hadn't been following the fates of those four just yet, he knew they had been caught but until the trial started he was satisfied they were in custody.

Looking a little proud of herself but at the same time sheepish about her reply. "Well one of them got transferred to the same place Ed is at."

Kevin was pleased with this news but concerned for Ed. "Angie you didn't, you're going to get big guy in trouble."

"Oh he assures me he knows how to take care of the boy and not get caught." With that Kevin had a little satisfaction, but not as much as he would like it to be, he hoped the trial would give him, Edd and his family some closure to these events and allow Edd to move past it and heal. The warning bell rings and the halls went into a mad bustle as students and teachers made their way to class, Kevin said his goodbye's to his friends and headed to his own class to begin this long day. Each class that day seemed to drag on and he could barely pay attention to the lesson the teacher was giving, each trip between classes was a reminder of where Edd was and why he wasn't there holding his hand or kissing him goodbye. Lunch was awful, normally the dork would be holding his hand under the table, smiling at him while they teased each other or made little flirtatious comments back and forth. But today it was only Eddy and Angelica to keep him company, and though they tried their best to keep his mind off of Edd lying in a hospital bed, his shear absents kept it in the forefront of Kevin's mind. As lunch ended and he arrived at his next class he was stopped by one of the office staff.

Handing him a note she said. "A lady called claiming to be your mother, though she's not the person we have on fill." Kevin looked up at her ready to explain his situation. "But knowing that you're dating the boy in question I let it slide." She smiles at him then turns and walks away.

Kevin quickly opens the note, it only had two words on it. "Edd's awake." Running down the hall to get his book bag and jacket from his locker he nearly runs into Eddy on his way there. "What's the rush?" Eddy asks as he dodges the boy.

"Edd's awake." Eddy follows after him and ducks into a nearby classroom as he passes it to let Angelica know the good news. They unanimously and without a word between them decided the rest of the school day could be missed. The three of them jumped into Edd's car and speed off toward the hospital, Angelica having to remind him to watch his speed a few times, not wanting to get pulled over and then be forced to return to school. Arriving they quickly made their way to the ICU waiting room, Kevin pushes the intercom button by the entryway, when the nurses voice came over the little speaker Kevin let them know who he was and who he was there to see.

Leslie comes out a minute later with Tony by her side. "They're taking him to do some test's, you should have waited to come." She knew that statement was a ridiculous one, knowing nothing would have barred his path once he found out.

Looking disappointed that he was not there when Edd woke up, but was anxiously awaiting the time he would see those blue eyes again. "Do you know how long that's going to take?"

"A few hours at the least, they have to know what effects the brain damage has had." She was hopeful that they would be minor, but knew deep down her boy would have a hard time ahead of him.

"Does he seem alright?" Kevin needed to know that is misjudgment hadn't caused Edd to dearly now.

"He's talking normally, he remembers us and was asking about you." She smiled at that last bit to reassure him that it will be alright. Even with all that he has been through Kevin knew his dork would be all right, he just had to be. "They are also going to be moving him to his own room now that he is out of the coma." She said as she led them toward the elevators. "Now it will be easier for you all to see him." She was addressing Eddy and Angelica with this statement. Getting into the elevator she hit the button for the third floor, once there they headed to the nurses' station and got directions to where Edd's room would be. Walking into the room they noticed it just barely had enough sitting room for them all to wait on him. Having a couch and two chairs, one by the bed one by the couch, they took their seats and started the waiting game. Hospital furniture is sorely lacking in the comfort department they were to find out, and daytime television did nothing to quiet their minds of the concerns that plagued them.

Three hours later Edd had yet to show up in his room, and Leslie was growing impatient for any news about his condition. Walking out to the nurses' station again she asked for any relative information they might have, when they had none to give her she demanded to speak with the doctor who was over his case. She only got the typical response that the doctor would be with her as soon as they could. Feeling a little defeated she returned to Edd's room and sat down, twenty minutes later Edd was wheeled in by a nurses aid and helped into his bed, they all crowed around the bed to see him. Edd looking groggy takes the hand Kevin extends to him as he asks. "How ya feeling?"

"Tired." Edd's voice was horse, the bruise around his neck was still plainly visible only beginning to turn yellowish and start to heal.

"I would have thought you've gotten enough sleep by now to last a month Sockhead." Eddy quipped.

Edd seemed to be straining his eyes to see his friend at the foot of the bed, rolling over in Kevin's direction he brings their clasped hands up to his check and nuzzles it. "No, still tired."

"That's alright you get some rest." Kevin said rubbing his forefinger against Edd's cheek. Edd started to doze off rapidly while holding onto Kevin's hand, a light snore giving it away that he had circum to sleep shortly after he rolled over. Tony brings the chair over for Kevin to sit down in so he could continue to hold Edd's hand, all that was left was to wait on the doctor to give them the results of the tests.

A half hour later the door opens and a short woman whose ancestors hail from India walks in and holds out her hand. "Hello, I'm doctor Sidana." Both Mr. and Mrs. Kanker shack her hand. "Can I speak to you somewhere more private?"

"We're all family here, you can speak freely." Tony said matter-of-factly.

Giving a small nod to acknowledge what was said she cleared her throat and began. "As you know Edd has suffered mild brain damage from the lack of blood to his brain that the strangulation caused." She opens up the charts she was carrying in her right hand. "He has suffered some damage to his cognitive ability, and mild sensory damage." She pauses, flipping a page over. "He is also showing signs of mental fatigue as well."

"What does all that mean." Angelica asks.

"Well he is having difficulty keeping his attention on tasks or losing focus during conversations, his problem solving abilities seem to have taken a hit, his eye sight has suffered from the damage as well so he will need to wear glasses from now on. His perception of time his off, he believed the tests only took a little over an hour to complete. And he has a slight tremor to his hand if he writes for long periods of time." She takes a breath from her lengthy explanation, Leslie collapses into a chair, a hand over her mouth, Kevin looked at Edd as he slept and brushed his bangs out of his face. "All of this I know sounds considerable, but it could have been a lot worse, And most of his symptoms will pass with time, with physical therapy and as he learns new pathways in his brain to compensate for the damaged areas."

"Whatever it takes doc." Kevin said and squeezed the hand he hasn't let go of.

Dr. Sidana looks over at Kevin with a weary look on her face. "There are a few other symptoms that might not be apparent at the moment that you need to be aware of. He will probably have a sleep disorder, either insomnia or hypersomnia, we will prescribe medication as needed. The other symptom is he might become irritable or impatient, it's natural to experience this with any traumatic event or life change, but just let us know if it becomes erratic or out of place we will get him on some mood stabilizing medication."

Edd's parents talked with the doctor for a little while about the treatment's that might help Edd, at home as well as doctor visits. As far as the physical therapy, they would just be helping him flex his mental muscles slowly so his brain can make new connections the damage had destroyed. The path to Edd's recovery has just begun, and they all knew it would be a difficult one for the boy, they were prepared to do anything they could to help him along it. All of them looked forward to a guilty verdict being handed down by the judge on that far off day when Nazz's trial was over.


	40. Landslide

Chapter 40 – 11th grade Landslide

 **A/N- I hope everyone enjoyed the little cross over I did there, I thought why not some people might enjoy it. The bold letters are a silly little challenge I did for myself, the lyrics to the title song seeing how many I can do and in order while keeping the chapter cohesive.**

The hospital kept Edd for the next two days for observation, after being released from the **I** CU they wasted no time in starting his physical therapy, they **took** it slowly at first not wanting to push the boy too hard in the beginning. While Edd remained there Kevin would come and visit him after school to see how he was doing and keep him company. Asking him how he was doing Edd would only respond with a weak voice. " **My** throat hurts." Edd could feel the **love** and concern Kevin had for him every time he looked into those green eyes **,** he tried to reassure him with a weak smile only to fail miserably. The first day Kevin came to visit Edd he **took** him a book from his favorite author hoping **it** would keep his love busy and those mental muscles flexing during his **down** time.

Arriving on day two, Kevin enters the room to find Edd fast asleep in his bed, walking over to the side of the bed he plants a gentle kiss on the boy's temple and runs his fingers through Edd's hair while he takes in the bruise upon his neck. It was healing but still prominent on Edd's pale skin from what he could see through the brace, a big reminder to Kevin on how he failed his fiancé, he moved his hand down from the raven hair to Edd's left hand and looked at the ring upon it and made a promise to himself that he wouldn't fail him again. Edd stirred from his sleep and opened his eyes slowly. "How'd you sleep babe?" Kevin said kissing him on the forehead.

"Decently." Edd's voice was still a little horse but it was much stronger and clearer today. "Those exercises make me feel like **I climbed a mountain** , I get so sleepy from doing them." Edd yawned **and** stretched his arms over his head trying to wake up.

"That's ok, you need your rest, it helps you heal." Kevin was trying to put a positive spin on the mental fatigue as best he could, hoping it would make Edd feel a little better.

When Kevin looked into his eyes he saw a little sadness none the less. " **I** really don't want to sleep right now." Edd took a breath, not really wanting to burden Kevin with such silly things. "My dreams have all **turned** to nightmare's, I'm always on the football field and they all **around** me, screaming at me **and** hitting me." A tear fell down Edd's cheek at the memories his dreams were forcing him to relive every time he closed his eyes, Kevin grips the hand tightly that had the ring on it. "And when **I saw** him carrying that noose I would try and scream, but **my** throat would already be constricted."

Kevin kissed him again on the forehead and ran his free hand through his hair, speaking while his lips were inches away from Edd's skin not wanting to pull back just yet and let the boy see the hurt look in his eyes. "I'm here for you babe, I won't let them hurt you again." A tear fell down his cheek as well, knowing there is nothing he could really do to stop the dreams Edd was having.

Edd brings his head back and looks into Kevin's eyes and wipes the tear away with his thumb as he cupped his fiancé's cheek with his hand, then wipes his own tears away. Excusing himself for a moment he gets out of bed and heads into the bathroom, not wanting Kevin to see him so weak, he stares at his **reflection in the** mirror as a few more tears fall from his eyes. All he could see as he looked in the mirror was a weak and frail person racked with fear and regret, he vowed that he would never allow such a thing to happen to him again. Washing his face to hide the fact he had been silently crying in the bathroom he walked back into his room to see Kevin staring out the window. Edd joined him there and they watched as **snow** fell and **covered** the **hills** that surrounded the small town hospital, Kevin putting his arm around Edd's shoulder he brings him close so Edd could rest his head on his shoulder. They enjoyed the view together for a several minutes, Edd enjoying the safety and peace being wrapped in Kevin's arms brought him, feeling those arms were his anchor in this turbulent sea of emotions. Helping Edd back into his bed, making sure the IV lines didn't get tangled and handing him his O2 line, Kevin sits and spends the rest of the visiting hours talking with Edd or playing cards ' **til** it was time for him to head home, giving Edd a gentle kiss.

 **The** solitude of being in the hospital alone crashes down on him like a **landslide** , his emotional high of having Kevin visit him was **brought** down quickly by having nothing to do in his solitude but think or sleep. TV did nothing to alleviate this, as most shows didn't interest him and the channels the hospital offered didn't have anything but mindless sitcoms or game shows at this hour and he couldn't concentrate on reading loosing focus several times as he attempted to fill his hours with something to do. _"All that is left for_ _ **me**_ _to do is sleep."_ He thought to himself, his emotional side chiming in. _"And all you'll dream about is what happened to you before they got you_ _ **down.**_ _"_ Logic seemed to be taking a vacation since he woke up from his coma. **Oh** what he wouldn't give not to be afraid of sleeping, it use to be his sanctuary when he was emotionally down, now it was a constant reminder of why he felt this way with each dream he had.

But sleep over took him as his mental fatigue caused his eyes to slowly close and before he knew it there he was back on the football field, this time it was different however. There were no bullies screaming at him, no punching or kicking, just a peacefully silent field and a bright light shining down upon him from what looked like a **mirror in the sky**. Feeling his body float upwards toward the light he was wondering to himself **what is** going on, I'm not dead I can't be dead it's not my time yet. His **love** for his parents running through his mind, the love for his friends making his heart race faster, and the love for a green eyed red head brought tears to his eyes as he screamed "You **can** 't have me yet." As he sits up quickly in his bed, **the** sheets soaked with sweat, he gets out of bed and sits on the couch with a blanket and looks out the window. He feels like a **child** wrapped **within** his blankets hiding from the bogyman. _"_ _ **My**_ _god what was that?"_ He thought as his **heart** still raced from the dream, he sat there on the couch for the rest of the night and watched the sun **rise above** the horizon, the blinding light of the dawn reminding him of that vivid dream and his heart started to race again as the realization that he had truly died washed over him. " _ **Can I sail through the changing ocean tides**_ _of my emotions?_ _ **Can I handle the seasons of my life?**_ _"_ He pondered to himself, knowing no one can do this for him that regardless of what help his friends and loved ones gave him, ultimately he had to carry the majority of the burden himself.

This was the beginning of his third day in the hospital after waking, and the isolation during the day and nights were starting to drive him crazy. He needed to get out of this building and do something, anything to take his mind off the events that put him there. Shortly after breakfast there was a knock on the door and his father peeks his head in. "Are you there sport?"

Edd huffed at the nickname that his father has yet to catch the hint that he doesn't really like, and then replied. "Yes father I am, and decent."

Walking in Tony comes to the bed and pats his son on the knee. " **Well,** today is the day, the doctor….." Tony's voice trails off as Edd looks out the window at the snow covered trees in the distance, enjoying the beauty of the white against the green of the evergreen tree's needles. "Edd did you hear me?"

Brought back into the present conversation Edd looks at his father. "No, sorry. What were you saying?"

"The doctor is releasing you today, we just have to wait on the release form and I'll be taking you home." Edd could see the concern in his father's eyes, Edd's heart started to drop, only being awake for a few days he was just starting to realize how much this had changed him. Sure he still had all his motor functions, his speech wasn't impaired, but he could see it in peoples expressions that he was noticeable different. This frightened him for many reasons, most of which he dared not even think about at the moment, and he was sure that it was just his emotions getting the best of him. Waiting another forty minutes before the doctor came in again to give Edd's father a few last minute instructions about care, Edd was not to drive until he recovered some and his attention span was better, showers now over taking a bath in case he should fall asleep, anything to help him flex his mental muscles like puzzles or games don't just make it learning keep it interesting and fun, and she suggested therapy to help heal the emotional trauma from his experience. After thanking the doctor and shaking her hand they waited another twenty minutes before the nurse came in with the release papers for Tony to sign and a wheel chair to take Edd out to the car.

Driving home Edd just looks out the window leaning his head against the glass not paying attention to what his father was talking about, enjoying the classical music on the radio Le Quattro Stagioni was playing. Arriving home Edd was exhausted again and headed upstairs to fall asleep, only to be met by the four faces that haunted his dreams again. Waking with a start he finds that he had slept well into the afternoon, for an arm was around him, and when he looked over his shoulder he met concerned green eyes. "You alright babe?" Kevin said he pulled the boy in close and Edd turned to nestle his head in Kevin's chest and put his arms around him. "The dream again?" Edd nodded, Kevin kissed the top of his head. "Do you want to talk about it?" Edd shock his head and just laid there taking in Kevin's scent calming himself. Kevin didn't want to push it, he knew Edd would speak when he felt like it, all he could do was make sure Edd knew that he was there for him.

"You know, **I've been afraid of changing** , I can see it in the way people look at me." Edd could feel the tears filling his eyes, his emotional side had full reign of his mouth at the moment. "I saw it in the nurses that took care of me, I saw it in my dad's eyes as he picked me up today, I saw it in Angelica and Eddy's eyes when they came to visit, and I see it in yours as you worry about my dreams."

"No babe don't, you're still the same person. We just have a rough path ahead of us, and yes I am scared. I don't know how to protect you from having to go through that over and over in your dreams." Kevin rubbed Edd's shoulder as he held him tightly to his chest, but trying to be as gentle as possible afraid Edd would break in his grasp. "I'm scared as hell that you're going to collapse in on yourself and not let me help carry any of the burden." Kevin was fighting to keep up the strong front and be the support Edd needed now. "I don't want you shutting me out, you are my world my heart my life ' **cause I've built my life around you**." A tear still slipped out and Kevin could feel his breath starting to hitch a little. "I don't know what I would have done Edd, if I lost you. I was so scared when I saw…" Kevin couldn't complete his sentence, he was doing his best to keep his feelings under control but to see the image of Edd dangling by a rope in his mind again would tip him over the edge.

Edd squeezed harder trying to bring Kevin in as close as he could to his body, his heart breaking a little at the words that were spoken. He knew they were both hurt by this experience, but he never imagined Kevin feared his rejection over this, he was the one fearing Kevin's. His mind over the past two days had kept telling him that Kevin would grow tired of his new disability and leave him, that it was only a matter of time. That day they learned that it wasn't just going to be them helping Edd, that it was going to be the whole group helping each other to get through this, some days Leslie might need it and others Angelica might, but if they supported each other and take the road together they would make it through this. "I've got you Kev, we'll be alright."

"And I've got you babe." Kevin kissed the top of Edd's head and the boys laid there in each others arms, and for the first night since he woke up Edd slept peacefully without the dreams threatening to take him.

 **A/N- I hope this makes sense I had to do some word play in there to make the lyrics work, and Le Quattro Stagioni is the four seasons**


	41. Forgiveness

Chapter 41 – 11th grade Forgiveness

 **A/N- Some will probably not agree with me on this one the healing process is a rough road and we must learn to do things we normally would not want to.**

After a couple of nights of hearing her son wake from a nightmare and coming in to find Kevin already there comforting Edd, Leslie started allowing Edd and Kevin to share a room, after all they are engaged. The physical therapy was slow going at first, but Kevin was there to encourage and help Edd when he needed it, which ensured the doctor that Edd had a good support system in place to feel comfortable with her recommendation. The doctor deemed it was best if Edd return to school after he receives his glasses, with no physical side effects other than his eye sight it was determined that continuing his education would assist in his therapy. Edd's new glasses were brass wire half frames, and Kevin thought they made him look even more adorable, kissing the tip of Edd's nose after he told him as much. In many ways Kevin was becoming Edd's security blanket, from the comfort in sleep to his support with his therapy as well as just being able to walk down the halls of the high school when he returned. Edd would generally wait in his classroom until Kevin would arrive, not even wanting to go anywhere if Eddy or Angelica would arrive to walk him, his anxiety toward others was becoming a problem. When they walked down the halls as well Edd had started keeping a distance between him and Kevin, when Kevin first tried to put his hand in Edd's and the boy pulled away he understood and let the boy have his space, figuring it would work itself out in time and he didn't want to push. But as time went on he noticed that Edd would just walk further and further away from him, when Kevin asked him about it a week later Edd only said he didn't want to push their relationship in people's faces.

Thought Kevin was a great comfort to Edd at night the dreams would still sneak in on occasion, at first they were the same as they had been, his four assailants beating him and screaming at him. But once back at school the dreams started to morph into the people he noticed staring at him during the day, or some form of minor embarrassment being blown out of proportion. Though Kevin had reassured him through his actions and words on where he stood in Kevin's life, one dream kept coming up the most, it was about Kevin leaving him for Tommy or some other nameless cute boy, it even went as far as to have Nat return and steal him away from him. During these nights Edd would do his best not to wake Kevin up, but somehow the red head knew when he did and would bring him in to comfort and sooth him. Now don't get it wrong this wasn't a nightly thing, it just happened more then what it should be happening, and it was worrying the red head greatly on many levels.

Going down stairs one morning while Edd was in the shower Kevin address's his concerns to Leslie. "Ma, I'm worried about him."

"I know dear, I am to." She says as she sits down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

"I don't know what to do, I thought giving him a little space to work it out and not push him to talk about it would be alright, but he is just pulling away." Kevin pours himself a cup and sits down across from her.

"It's going to take time, he's gone through something traumatic and he has to work that out." Taking a sip of her coffee and putting the mug back down. "We may be taking the journey with him, but he is the one that has to carry the weight, we can only help him when he stumbles."

"I just wish I could do more." Kevin was just staring at his mug not really drinking it.

"It is frustrating I know, and we have only just begun." She reaches over and places her hand on his arm. "Just be there for him that is the best thing you can do for him."

Kevin took her hand within his own and nodded his acknowledgement. "I'm not going anywhere." Kevin's determination warmed her heart, though they had a rocky start in their relationship she was happy they had found each other. She could only hope that Edd's emotional therapy would help the boy move past this, and maybe her baby could recapture a bit of his innocents.

The following day Kevin took him to his first session, Edd insisted that he go home and come back to pick him up, but Kevin wouldn't hear of it. While in the waiting room Kevin tried to be mildly affectionate again to show is support by holding Edd's hand only to be shut down again by the boy crossing his arms over his chest. The doctor had witnessed the display as she came out of her office to call him in. Sitting in a comfy leather arm chair while the doctor sat down at her desk chair and faced him, her desk was against the wall so there were no barriers between her and her patient, it gives a sense of openness to the conversation. After introducing herself to Edd and explaining what she hoped he would get from these sessions Dr. Lee asked him to begin by explaining what happened to him that day. Edd went into great detail about it and the actions that lead up to that day, having to be steered back to the conversation a few times after losing focus. Tears were shed as he went through the description of their actions and his fears while he was being hung by the noose.

"This being the most extreme case of homophobia you have experienced, I'm going to guess it isn't the only case." Dr. Lee said as she set her pen down on the note pad she had been writing on.

Edd shook his head as he wiped a tear away. "No, I have been beaten and bullied before because of my perceived sexuality before I came out." Edd took a tissue from the table next to him and cleared his nasal cavity. "And even if the words were not directed at me personally, I have had to listen to it most of my life. The snide comments, or stereotypes thrown around to belittle others, it made it very difficult to think anyone would accept me for the longest time."

Taking down a few quick notes on what he said she pushes further. "But ultimately you found that some people did accept you for who you are." Edd nodded to her question. "Am I correct in assuming the young man in the waiting room is your boyfriend?"

Edd nodded again. "He's my fiancé."

"Do you mind if I ask why you shied away from his touch?" She eyed him for his reaction

"You saw that?" Edd was a little embarrassed that he was that obvious.

"Yes and I'm sure he noticed to, though I am certain he is quite understanding about it, you should accept the love given to you." She looked upon him with understanding eyes but keeping a professional demeanor about her, she still felt for the boy.

"I am just trying to avoid drawing attention from hateful people." Edd looked away from her gaze and down to his feet.

"I understand that, but you can't live your life in fear of what others will think of you." She ponders her words for a moment, already figuring the boy was intelligent and a bit of a geek in social standing she decided to use a metaphor. "Yoda had it right you know, fear leads to anger, anger to hate and hate to suffering. Depression is suppressed anger, and currently yours is about the anger of what has happened to you, but fear will fuel it, if you fear what others think, you will become angry about not being able to lead your life in the open and with enough time you will begin to hate people for driving your fears, and that can lead you down terrible paths of suffering."

Edd took all that in but was at a loss for a solution to what she said. "What would you suggestion I do then, it was my openness that drove these people to do this."

"Learn to say the heck with them and accept the love you're given, not everyone is going to do to you what these four individuals did. I'm not going to say everything is going to be easy sailing, but shutting yourself off from the rest of the world is no solution." She takes a breath and leans back in her chair swiveling it back and forth for a minute as she considered the next statement. "The other thing we are going to try and work on here is forgiveness."

Edd's eyes widened with disbelief at her statement. "You can't be serious doc, you expect me to forgive those people."

She stops swiveling her chair and looks at him, a serious expression on her face. "Yes, I'm not asking you to invite them over for Sunday tea or anything like that. But forgiveness is an essential part of the healing process and the hardest part, it helps you let go of what has been done to you so you can move past it. Don't get me wrong I'm not expecting you to forget what they did or to ever personally tell them, but you need to eventually let go. The other part is to forgive yourself, people have a tendency to place blame on themselves for things that happen to them, even if they are completely not at fault. It's not something that I expect you to accomplish today tomorrow or even this year, this process will take time and effort, but it can be accomplished."

"Can't I just take a pill and be done with it?" Edd still wasn't keen on even the idea of forgiving them at this time in his life, and who could blame him.

"I would prefer we keep medication as a last resort not a front line of defense." Getting a look from him she knew he had been trained to think pills were the only answer. "Anti-depressants are meant to correct a chemical imbalance, in other words your brain isn't producing that chemical. I would like to see if over time we can correct your emotional state first through therapy, if the symptoms persist then we can talk about medication."

"I understand." Was all Edd could muster to say at the time.

"It's going to be a rough road Edd, I hope you understand that, we aren't looking at a quick fix here. You were put through a lot by these individuals and that will leave scares, just don't be in a rush and get frustrated." She pulled a note pad off her desk and started writing on it, ripping the top paper off she hands it to him. His next appointment was in two weeks. "Also after a few one on one sessions I would like to include your fiancé and your parents in some of our sessions as well, with your permission of course."

Edd puts the note in his wallet for safe keeping. "Any reason why?"

She turns and puts the note pad back on her desk along with her note book and pen then turns to face him again. "Being a part of your life, it would help that they know what is going on in it. Such as what the treatment will entail, options we can take, and in some of the joint sessions we can do group therapy so they can get out how this situation has made them feel, in a safe environment. It will help all of you get some understanding with what each of you are going through with what has happened. But like I said with your permission of course and only when you're comfortable to do so."

"I'll keep that in mind doc." Edd stood and extended his hand to her.

"Please call me Amy from now on." She took his hand and shook it, walking to the door she puts her hand on the knob but didn't turn it just yet, turning to face him she says. "Remember Edd, accept the love you are given." Opening the door to allow him to exit the room she continues. "Have a good day and I'll see you in two weeks."

"Goodbye Amy." Edd said with a small wave to her.

Kevin stands and comes over to Edd reaching for the boy's hand but changing his mind and putting his hand back down to his side. "How did it going? Does your head feel smaller?"

Ignoring his fiancé's bad humor he walks to the door with Kevin. "It went fine." Once outside the door and headed to the car, Edd reaches over and shyly takes Kevin's hand in his own. Starting by gently rubbing his middle and index finger against Kevin's hand, Kevin hoping that this was permission interlaces their fingers together. Looking down his eyes meet apologetic blue, he gives Edd a small smile to tell him it was alright and gently kisses his fiancé's lips. Dr. Lee looking out her window was happy the boy was willing to take her advice, a good sign in her opinion that he can get past this.


	42. Liberty and Justice

Chapter 42- 11th Grade Liberty and Justice

 **A/N- Sorry it's taken a minute on updating this one but work, eat, sleep repeat got in the way. And to fill in the gap with the PCN cross over Mitchell was only there for a week and was found in the basement of his corrections facility starved but alive.**

Over the course of the next couple of weeks Edd continued his therapy, mental and physical, returning to Dr. Lee's office at the end of the two weeks to continue to work on his anxieties towards others and the depression he feels for what happened to him. During these two weeks the District Attorney built his case against the four assailants in Edd's case, ultimately deciding due to the severity of their action that he would seek to have them tried as adults. Presenting his findings to the judge at the grand jury trial, the judge agreed and set bail for Mitchell at $250,000 for Nazz and Sam, the other foot ball jock, he set it at $200,000 and for Richard, Nazz's boyfriend, $100,000. The charges against them were as follows, for Nazz and Sam Second degree attempted murder, Class B felony battery, criminal confinement and the events treated as a hate crime. For Mitchell all charges were the same but instead he was charged with a First degree attempted murder charge. Richard, Nazz's boyfriend quickly took a plea deal and was only charged with one count of criminal confinement.

Richards trial was short and sweet, having his plea deal in place all that he had to do was plead guilty and stand witness on the other three trials and he would have a lighter sentence. Once they heard that Richard had made a deal for a reduced sentence, Nazz and Sam quickly followed suit the only deal the Prosecutor would give them however is a concurrent sentence and not a consecutive sentence. At first the two of them didn't like that idea but when the DA informed them that if they went to trial and they got the maximum consecutively they were looking at 130years and no parole, concurrently 60 years with the ability for parole in 30. The two jumped at it quickly, but poor Mitchell, there was something in him that wouldn't let him accept a plea deal offered and his court date was set. In mid April it began, by this time all of Edd's external physical wounds had healed, only leaving a slight scar on his neck from where the rope had cut into his skin. The trial lasted a couple of weeks, Mitchell's attorney attempting to use gay panic as a defense for Mitchell to garner sympathy for the boy, but that quickly crumble to pieces after testimonies were heard. The Prosecution brought forth several witnesses to testify on Mitchell's obvious hatred for Edd due to his sexuality, several classmates and team mates who had over heard several of Mitchell's comments. Those along with having Nazz, Sam and Richard testify that it was Mitchell's idea to hang Edd quickly tipped the balance of Mitchell's defense, but his lawyer never stopped trying. The prosecutor called Kevin, Eddy and Angelica to testify what they witnessed on the day of the incident. The cross examination grilling Angelica harshly because she didn't directly witness Mitchell holding the rope, and Eddy he tried to intimidate into making a mistake.

The defense attorney still trying to pull the gay panic as much as possible grilled Kevin on his relationship with Edd. "Did you and Mr. Vincent ever walk around the halls of your school holding hands?"

"Yes we did." Kevin could already tell where this was headed.

"How about kissing? Did you kiss your boyfriend in front of the other students?" The defense attorney rested his hands on the railing of the jury box.

"I don't see what this has to do with anything." Kevin had to take a few breathes to calm himself, this line of questioning was absurd and already making his blood boil.

"Would you please answer the question Mr. Barr." The attorney didn't even look at him.

"Yes, but everyone kisses the one they love. I don't see the big deal." Kevin was clenching and unclenching his fists now, really wishing he could deck this asshole.

Turning toward Kevin leaving one hand on the rail, "Did you ever think that maybe most people don't want to see two men fornicating in the halls?"

"We weren't doing anything dirty in front of people," Kevin was trying to keep his voice at a reasonable level and hide his anger, but failing at it. "You're exaggerating a kiss and making it sound like we were fucking in the halls."

"Young man, watch your language." The judge admonished him.

"Did you ever consider that maybe your actions could have drive someone to do this horrendous act of violence?" The man looked a little pleased with himself that he was riling Kevin up. "Isn't it true that you proposed to Mr. Vincent in front of the whole school just some nine days prior to the alleged assault?"

"Yeah, what of it? I was taught that marriage is the ultimate expression of love, and I will never again be made to feel ashamed of who I love." Kevin has to continue to remind himself to keep calm, don't blow up in his face.

"I'm sure you have made your mama proud son, no more questions your honor." The attorney takes his seat by Mitchell and Kevin leaves the witness box once excused by the judge. Edd wanting to avoid looking at the people who assaulted him as much as possible, plus he didn't want to listen to how the defense would twist the events, refused to go to the court room. Only making his appearance on the day the summons told him to be there, as much as he didn't want to look at Mitchell he found that he was staring at him. Holding Kevin's hand tightly, malicious thoughts went through his mind, at first mild fantasy about screaming at the man about what all this has done to him emotionally and physically, on how he would never be the same person he was. Then the fantasies started taking a nose dive, they went into Edd physically beating the Mitchell with his bare hands till he was unconscious, then a bat got thrown into the mix somewhere and he was bashing in his skull. Finally he just imagined shooting him, pulling the trigger over and over again even after the weapon was empty he would continue to squeeze that trigger. Maybe that would make him feel better if he was responsible for the man's demise, maybe then he could sleep at night knowing he was no longer in the land of the living, maybe then he could get back what he had lost.

When he was called to the stand Edd went quickly, but with as much detail as he could, through the events of that day, still having difficulty focusing and having to apologies for it on more than one occasion. His emotions were running high as he finally got to the parts that now haunt his dreams, doing his best to keep the tears at bay, but was unsuccessful and they fell anyway. Hating that he showed weakness he wipes the tears away with a tissue. Now it was the defenses turn, "Mr. Vincent, have you ever made lewd comments to Mr. Loveless?"

"No." Edd said flatly.

"Have you ever described sexual events between you and your boyfriend in Mr. Loveless' presents?"

"No." Again he said it with no emotion.

"You ever stare at Mr. Loveless in the locker room of P.E. class as he was changing?" He comes and stands in front of Edd now.

"No." Edd was starting to lose the battle with his emotions again.

"How about propositioning him for sex? Did you ever do that?" The lawyer was leaning on the witness stand railing with his hands looking Edd in the eyes, waiting for the tears to fall again.

"No, and fuck you." Edd was now visibly shacking.

"Mr. Vincent, please watch your language." The judge called out.

Ignoring the judge Edd continued, "That asshole took a rope and hung me from a goal post, and you have the gall to try and make it my fault," Edd bitterly laughed at the thought, "You have a better chance at trying to make it as though I hung myself and he was trying to save my life, then pulling this bull shit sir.

The judge slams his gavel down a few times, "Mr. Vincent I will not warn you again."

Edd looked at the judge but his eyes did not speak of apology, but rather anger, turning back to the lawyer in front of him he continued but kept his mouth in check. "Your client is a hateful man and he did hateful things. But to answer your question so there is no doubt sir, I neither did nor said anything to Mr. Loveless that would indicate I was or would ever be interested in him in a sexual or romantic way." Edd's face was stern and unflinching when he spoke. The lawyer not happy with the results of his questionings stepped back from Edd, he was hoping Edd would be meek and frightened, so he could probably throw some doubt into the boy and make him question himself. Stepping back to his chair he released Edd from questioning. Edd stepped down from the witness box and through the swinging gate and down the aisle, with Kevin following after him, then out the door of the courtroom never looking back. Kevin had to stop him by grabbing his arm, turning Edd to face him Kevin saw the tears rolling down his face. Kevin wraps his arms around the boy, Edd clutches Kevin's shirt and let the tears fall freely once he was in Kevin's embrace, "The nerve of that man, how could he even try and suggest it was my fault."

Rubbing Edd's shoulders, Kevin spoke softly, "That's what he gets paid to do D."

Edd sniffles and quietly sobs out, "That's no excuse." Leaving that day, they went home and left the dirty business to the lawyers, Kevin tried to keep Edd's mind off the trial as best he could, but it continued to play out in the back of both their minds. Fears of Mitchell actually getting away with it plagued Edd's thoughts, though there was plenty of evidence and eye witnesses and the other three assailants testimonies against him the lawyer only needed to put reasonable doubt into the jury, or sympathy into the judge and maybe he would get a lighter sentence. The stereotypes he has heard over and over again running through his mind, the way he knows some people view people like him all tortured Edd this day, and he found no comfort in the loving embrace Kevin had him in on the couch as they watched a documentary on wildlife. Maybe once the trial was over he could get some peace of mind, maybe once he knew that they all were behind bars he could relax and start to regain a piece of himself.

The defense attorney did not put Mitchell on the stand, knowing the boy would probably hurt his case more than help it. The defense attorney was relentless none the less, bringing forth claims that Mitchell was molested as a child, though no proof or names were given, claiming it is one of the main reasons for his homophobia. Sighting Mitchell's deep religious beliefs and blaming the church for teaching a young impressionable mind that it was alright to hate gay people. A few days after Edd took the stand the jury went into deliberations and came back in less than an hour with its verdict and Edd, Kevin, Angelica and Eddy were there to witness it. The foreman hands the paper to the judge who looks over it and hands it back. "Would you please read the verdict." The judge calls to the foreman

"On the charge of First degree attempted murder, we the jury find the defendant guilty." Edd and Kevin breathe a sigh of relief, "ON the charge of felony battery we find the defendant guilty, on the charge of criminal confinement we find the defendant guilty."

"Thank you ladies and gentleman for your service," The judge address the jury then turns to the court, "Mitchell Loveless you have been found guilty on all charges by a jury of your peers, and it is my duty to pronounce sentence. On the charge of attempted murder I hereby sentence you to 75 years. On the charge of felony battery 20 years, on the charge of criminal confinement 20 years, and due to the nature of the crimes I am adding an addition 75 years to your sentence, all to be served consecutively at the maximum security penitentiary in Lemon Brook without the possibility of parole." Slamming his gavel to signify this was his final word on the subject the judge dismisses the court and all in attendance stood as he left. Mitchell was escorted out of the room in shackles through the door on the side looking as though he was about to break down, he was transported to his new home that same evening.

Shortly after the trial the rest of the assailants were given their sentences, Nazz received 60 years in prison as did Sam, Richard received 20 years for his plea bargain. Richard was released on good behavior after nine years, Sam won an appeal and had his sentence reduced to 35 years and was released after serving 14 years of it only having to do 5 more years of parole, Nazz is still in prison but will be released with the one day good behavior one day removed from your sentence law the state has and will be released when she is 46 years old. Mitchell won an appeal and had the consecutive part of his sentence turned into concurrent and will be release at the age of 54 under the same law as Nazz.

 **A/N- OK I know the numbers are probably not the numbers you all wanted, but I used a local case for the outcome, it was where a group of teens lured a twelve year old girl out of her house, beat her with a tire iron stabbed her repeatedly and then burnt her alive with gasoline all over the fact that she was in a relationship with one of the girls ex-girlfriend, and that's all the prison sentence they got for it.**


	43. Puzzle Pieces

Chapter 43- 11th grade Puzzle Pieces

 **A/N-I am glad that you all accepted the sentencing the four of them received, though some of them got really light sentences that is just how the system works out sometimes. TY all for your reviews I really enjoy receiving them, on this and all my work**

After the trial, a weight had been lifted off of Edd's shoulders and slowly he felt he was starting to gain pieces of himself back, he started to sleep more soundly, the dream that had been plaguing him was now becoming less frequent. With the help of Dr. Lee his anxieties toward people were becoming manageable, though still there, he had a sliver of control over it and could lead a more normal life. Now being in the month of May his 11th grade school year was coming to a close, and he was looking forward to the summer vacation, a chance to relax and feel more at ease and not an exhibit on display. That was one of the things that had been fueling his anxieties, the looks of pity and curiosity he was receiving from his peers. He couldn't blame them for it, when you are the center of gossip both from the local news and the rumor mill in the school, people tend to stare hoping to catch a glimpse of the scar on his neck. But now that the trial was over and the gossip was dying down the looks were becoming less frequent and he felt as though he could breathe again.

Another thing that helped Edd come back to some order in his life was the upcoming birth of Angelica's baby, now in her fifth month of her pregnancy they were busy looking for a Lamaze class to enroll her in, hoping it would help calm her nerves about the impending child birth.

"I don't know Edd, don't you think it's a little too soon to be worried about this?" Angelica said as she flipped through a magazine in the waiting room of her doctor's office.

"On the contrary, my research shows that next month is the perfect time to begin such classes." Kevin and Edd were there that day because her parents couldn't be, both picking up extra shifts to cover the cost of all the doctor visits and prepare for the upcoming hospital bill. "And it would be best to start looking now, lest you miss out by procrastinating about it."

"So Angie," Kevin leaned over Edd to get a better view of her, "You haven't told us what you're having yet?"

"I know, but the little one keeps laying in a weird position," She looks down at her belly and was rubbing it with the palm of her hand soothingly, "It's like they don't want anyone to know."

When Kevin didn't move back and Edd gave him a little nudge to tell him back off the personal space, Kevin just faces him and gives him a light kiss on the cheek and a wink to say you like me here, Edd returned the gesture with a smile. "We might get lucky today." Kevin said sitting back and placing his hand on Edd's leg.

"Out of curiosity have you chosen a name yet, one for each in case we don't find out till they are born?" Edd, always being the practical one about these things.

"If it's a boy I'm thinking Michael Duane Samuels and Tamara Jayne Samuels for a girl, what do you think?" She looked at them both for approval, being her first time naming another living being she hoped they sounded good.

"They sound perfect." Edd reassured her.

"So TJ and MD." Kevin said smiling at her his approval.

Edd gave him a light smack on the arm, "They aren't even born yet and you're already giving them nicknames." Edd phased out of the conversation a little thinking about nicknames but quickly snapped himself back in catching the last bit of what Kevin was saying on when he would really give them their nicknames. He was getting better at keeping his attention on things he needed to do, but would still loose himself in his thoughts and block out the rest of the world unknowingly. Finally the nurse called for Angelica and they were shown back into the examination room, Kevin helped Angelica up onto the exam table where she scooted herself into position and laid back. These visits always made her nervous, so far everything looked fine, no abnormalities were too been seen, the child was coming along normally and very healthy from what the doctor told her. She couldn't help the nerves though, she hoped that every visit would come out the same but she always had a nagging feeling that one time they would say there was something wrong. She would love this child to the end of time no matter what, but mothers always want the best possible for their children.

The door opens fifteen minutes later and the ultra sound tech comes in, "Hello Angelica, it's good to see you again."

"Hey Sammy these are my friends Edd and Kevin," She points to the each of them, "They're friends of the fathers to."

The tech extends his hand and shacks theirs, then takes his seat next to her putting on a pair of gloves, "So any word on the father? Any possibility for an early release?"

"His parents seem hopeful, their lawyer has been working on it. He might be out before the babies born, if not Edd will record the birth, Kevin would probably faint." She laughed at the last part when Kevin gave her a look. The tech asks her to lift her shirt and squeezes out a generous amount of gel on her stomach and places the device on top of that.

"Well I hope he does, it would be a shame if he misses it." Angling the device the picture on the screen started to show a healthy baby curled up and sucking on its thumb inside her belly. Edd and Kevin both smiled at this and Edd reached for Kevin's hand holding it tightly, the desire to have children welling up in him at the sight of such a precious little being in its early stages of life. "Well everything looks normal, I say we are right on track in development, are we still wanting to know the sex?" Angelica nods and takes hold of Kevin's free hand, adjusting the device to get another angle of the fetus, "This one loves to be difficult on letting us see." Trying yet another angle he finally caught what he was looking for. "Well if I am not mistaken, it looks like you're going to have a boy, congratulation." Sammy took a picture and printed it out so she could send it to Ed as well as one for herself, handing her a few paper towels to wipe the gel off her stomach he helps her sit up. "We'll send the information to your doctor, and he will go over it in greater detail with you on your next visit. You take care hun and we will see you on your next visit."

After Sammy left Kevin helped her off the table, "Hun?"

"Yes, Sammy is a really nice guy, he and his boyfriend have been together for years." Adjusting her shirt a little more after dismounting the table, "What did you two really think you were the only gay couple in Peach Creek?"

"Of course not," Edd said a little too enthusiastically, "It was only feeling that way for a minute."

"Well I told Sammy all about you two and he has made a few suggestions on things we need to do, so be ready boys we are taking a few trips this summer." She pokes each of them in their chest for emphasis. She was eager to get the boys into the community so they could see a positive role model of their lives, and maybe make some friends with like minded individuals. After they left the hospital they made a stop at the grocery store, Angelica was having a craving for pickles and ice cream and when they made it back to the house they found that she wanted them at the same time.

As he watched her eat the strange concoction a wide eyed Kevin remarked, "I don't think I will ever get how pregnancy causes you to want to eat shit like that."

"Oh it's really good," She said and pointed her fork toward him with an ice cream drenched pickle on it, "You want some?"

Holding up his hand, "No, I'll pass."

Taking a bit she spoke with her mouth full, "More for me then." The rest of the afternoon was spent watching classic Disney movies, Angelica bawling her eyes out when Bambi's mother died, taking Edd several minutes to calm her down cradling her in his arms, "It's just so sad, the poor guys losing his mother like that." She sobbed into his shoulder.

A few days later Ed received a letter from her with the picture of his son's ultrasound clearly showing that he was to be the proud father of a bouncing baby boy. Calling his parents the next day talking to them about the letter and the picture, they were already well aware of it and assured him they were getting close to working out a deal for his early release so that he could be there the day of his child's birth. Ed also had plans of his own once released, he was going to do his best for his family, walk the straight and narrow path and provide for them. "So Ma, did you talk to Nana for me?"

"Yes honey, I have it here with me in a safe place for when you get out." His mother double check the drawer she put the item in just to make sure, things like this you don't want to lose. "She demands plenty of pictures in exchange for it, and that you promise to be good."

"I will Ma, those days are behind me, I have to take care of my kid now." Switching the phone from one ear to the other, "Did she tell you what she's naming the child?"

"Yes, I think Michael is such a wonderful name." She sits upon the bed in her room now, hoping the lawyer pulls through for them, not only for herself but for Angelicas sake.

"If I can't get out, I want a shit ton of pictures ok. I want to plaster my walls with them." Ed's heart was over flowing with pride with each new letter Angelica sent him about their child, and his hopes for their future together seemed secure with each word of love and devotion they exchanged with each other. These four walls and the six months he had left to spend within them was starting to feel stifling, he prayed every night that the lawyer would come through for him.

"Your times up." The guard called over to him.

"Ma I got to go, I love you and tell Angie I love her so much and I'll see her soon."

"Bye baby, be good and stay out of trouble in there." The line went dead as the guard pushed down on the hook switch hanging up on him.

"Back to your dorm." The guard made a motion with his hand to make his point come across. Ed slowly turned around and walked to his common area, keeping his hands in his pockets fist clenched tightly within. His mother's words and the thought of seeing Angelica and his baby keeping him calm, don't need to give them any reason to keep him in here for the whole sentence. Take it one day at a time, one breath at a time, don't let them get to you or riel you up. He repeated this over and over to himself when something happened, becoming his mantra to help see him through.

 **A/N- Sorry if I got anything wrong on this chapter, never having been through a pregnancy myself some facts were contradictory on the internet on when you could see the sex of a child or when they suck their thumb or cravings. So I just flew by the seat of my pants on it.**


	44. Shopping for Your Future

Chapter 44- Summer – Shopping for Your Future

 **A/N- The next few chapters will be during the summer before their senior year, let the shenanigans begin. Thank you all for your reviews, I know when I started this thing I said there wasn't going to be to be too much fluff, but this thing has morphed and changed so much.**

The final month of the school year went by pretty smoothly, Peach Creek High seemed to be transformed by the event surrounding Edd, as though they had seen the face of true hatred and decided they wanted no part of it. It had gradually started upon his return to school after the incident, a few people Edd didn't even personally know would casually ask him if he was alright. His anxiety at the time making him shy away from such interaction, he would give a very sterile replay and then walk off head ducked down and eyes on the floor. After months of treatment and the weight of the trial was off his shoulders, Edd was starting to notice that these people were actually taking an interest in him and it was not just pity or morbid curiosity as he had originally thought. These were the allies he didn't know he had, the people who had cheered for his engagement to Kevin, those that felt bad they couldn't have prevented what Nazz had done to him, and they were determined that something like that would never happen again. It seemed that even the bullies that caught him alone and would say the snide remarks about his intelligence or they way he dresses here and there would refrain from using homophobic comments toward him.

The month passed by quickly for the three friends and a collective sigh of relief was let out across the school when the final bell rang on the last day of school. Not having any books to pick up or drop off from their lockers the three of them made a straight line to the parking lot to load up in Edd's car. Kevin takes the back seat to allow Angelica access to the easier front seat, and once Edd pushes the seat back into position and takes his seat Kevin reaches up and plants a kiss on his cheek. "Hey babe, you free now?"

"Yes I am Kevin what did you have in mind." Edd turned the key and started the engine.

"Well I wanted to go mattress shopping, if I am going to move out soon I need a place to lay my head." Kevin said as thoughts of perfect evenings of cuddling with Edd in that bed, along with a few other activities, swam through his head.

Edd on the other hand was feeling nervous about this, he knew it was inevitable that Kevin would move out, but now that the time was approaching he feared what this would mean for them and their relationship. "Oh, OK." Is all he could say in response.

As they drove down toward Angelica's, Kevin seemed excited about the prospective purchase, his independence coming closer and was almost within his grasp. All the while his excitement was driving Edd further and further down the rabbit hole of his doubts. Interrupting Kevin, while he was reciting the list of things he still needed to get for his future apartment, Angelica asks, "So are you boys off work next weekend?" Both boys responded that they both were unfortunately scheduled that weekend. "Well, you're calling off, we are making a trip to Summerville. No excuses," She looks at them both sternly and pokes Edd in the shoulder for emphasis, "You never call off anyways, so they can miss you for a day and survive."

Rubbing his shoulder where she had poked him, Edd mockingly whines out the first part, "Alright, I get it, you'll hunt me down anyways if I don't, so I might as well make it easier on myself and comply with your request."

Pulling up to her drive way, "That's a good boy," and she gives him a quick farewell kiss on the cheek, gets out of the car and pushes the seat forward for Kevin and turns to walk away.

"What no kiss for me?" Kevin feigns jealousy at being forgotten.

"Oh darling I'm sorry." She turns and kisses him on the cheek as well then turns to leave, Kevin takes the seat in the passenger side of the vehicle and they head off towards Big Lots. When on a budget, one must watch their expenses, not to mention the twenty percent discount Kevin gets for working there helps out. Sure it was a part time gig, but Kevin's other part time job made up for what this one lacked in hours, he was doing what he needed to do to reach his goals.

Making their way to the back of the store to the small furniture department, Kevin plops down on the first mattress in the row and lies back with his hands behind his head, he pats the mattress beside him for Edd to join him. "What do you think of this one?"

Edd takes a seat on the end of the mattress and takes in the softness of it, giving it a few small bounces, Kevin giving a small laugh at the movement Edd was doing. "It feels quite nice."

"You're supposed to lay down dork, you can't really tell unless you do." Kevin shifts a little on the mattress trying to get a better position. A twinge of panic shoots up Edd's spin, who knew how many people have laid on these, germs and bugs and who knows what else might be contaminating the surface. Reluctantly he obliges Kevin's request and slowly takes his position beside the red head. "This is nice isn't it?" Kevin looks over at Edd, hoping for a favorable answer on his first choice.

"It is very comfortable, I'm sure one that hasn't been lain on by countless strangers would feel even better though." The continued thought of how unsanitary this mattress could be creeping Edd out a little more with each passing second.

"You're probably right, but I want your opinion on it, because I plan on having you in it a lot." Kevin rolls over to face him a mischievous grin upon his face, Edd had a knowing smile upon his own lips his fears from earlier melting away a little. "So I was wondering, do you think your parents might, you know, let you move in with me?" Hope darted across Kevin's face but turned downcast quickly with the realization of his words, "They probably won't, but I so want you there with me."

Edd rolled over to face Kevin and put a hand on his cheek, "We can always ask, I'm turning 18 this year so they might be amicable toward the idea, what's the worst they can say, no?"

Joy over flows Kevin's heart that Edd was agreeable to the suggestion and his smile broadens even further, "I love you , you know that."

Edd brings their foreheads together biting his lower lip as he smiles, "Yes I know, I am hard to resist."

Kevin chuckles a little at the comment and whispers, "Oh, don't we think highly of ourselves," and kisses the boy gently on the nose.

Edd blushes at the kiss and whispers back, "Well I have you to thank for inflating my ego, among other things." Edd gives a teasing smirk and places a chaste kiss on Kevin's lips quickly.

"OK Kevin, no making out on the displays." A voice calls from over Kevin's shoulder, breaking the kiss Kevin rolls over and both boys see a black hair Caucasian lady in her early 30's with blue eyes standing there with her hands on her hips and a playful smile on her face. She wore brown khaki cargo pants and a black polo shirt with the company's logo on the left breast of her shirt, the name tag on the right.

"Oh come on Alice, we weren't making out, just trying it out for, you know comfort." Kevin said as he sat up, a blush upon his cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah, tell those lies to your mother not me." Turning to look at Edd as he sits up on the bed, she sees embarrassment etched upon his face, she extends her hand to him, "So you must be Edd," Taking her hand he gives it a small shack, "I'm this numb skulls night time supervisor, the names Alice."

Pushing the embarrassment aside Edd greets her, "A pleasure to meet you ma'am."

"Please don't call me ma'am, I'm not that old." She pauses and releases Edd's hand, "I've heard so much about you, you're all Kevin ever talks about." A gentle smile was upon her face as she spoke, Edd could tell that she was a kind person with a gentle heart.

Edd felt a tinge of embarrassment that Kevin was talking about him and their relationship to his coworkers, "Alice you're embarrassing him." Kevin said looking at Edd with pleading eyes as to say it's not totally true.

Turning back to Kevin, "No pumpkin, I think you're the one getting embarrassed," She gives him a smirk and then went to business, "So did you finally drag your butt in here to buy the bed set?"

"I'm only going to be able put the mattress and bed frame on layaway at the moment." Kevin stands and goes over to the next display that had the bed frame he was interested in.

She ponders for just a second, "You know pumpkin, I don't normally suggest this, but you should probably buy that mattress there, it's just as good as the other one but cost two hundred less. And that should make it where you can afford the nightstands today." Edd gets up and walks a little ways down, to look at the other furniture as Alice and Kevin discuss the purchase and made the arrangements for the layaway. Trying out the couches and recliners, his hopes lifted with Kevin's request, secretly planning out the layout of the apartment they might share, knowing that they had so many things that still needed to be purchased.

After twenty minutes of looking around, Kevin comes over and sits next to Edd on the loveseat, "You ready to go?" Edd nods and the both of them made their way out of the store and to Edd's car.

"Alice seems really nice," Edd commented as he turned out of the parking lot, "I can see why you say they are like a big family there."

"Yeah she can be, but she's really strict about punctuality." Kevin remembers some of the lectures she has given him about his tardiness on more than one occasion.

"So what's up with the nickname pumpkin?" Edd muses over this.

"She says I remind her of her husband, and that's her nickname for him." Kevin said nonchalantly, "It doesn't bother me, it's just a term of endearment is all, like someone saying hon."

As she sat in her office Alice mused on how cute those two looked together, and felt nostalgic about when she met her little red head back in high school. She knew those two were meant for each other, and the way they interacted with each other warmed her heart. She could only hope the best for them as they walked down life's path together.

 **A/N-R!kevedd belongs to Asphyixon. Remember nothing in this universe is impossible, only improbable.**


	45. Celebrate

Chapter 45- Celebrate

 **A/N- Was hoping to get here before June ended but failed on that, /sigh. Oh well better late than never.**  
 **R!kevedd belongs to Asphyixon**

Over the course of the next week the boy's were responsible young men, going to work when it was expected of them, then coming home and doing their choirs and spending time with the family. Alice has giving Kevin extra hours at the store, including an overnight shift once a week to help stock the shelves, this way he could make his dream of independence a reality quicker. Of course she also teased him a few times on how cute a couple he and Edd made, or how adorable their little love shack will be when he looked at something new he wanted to buy for his, and hopefully their apartment. When Kevin voiced his concerns on whether Edd's parents would allow him to live with him she simply responded, "First off you two are engaged, they have allowed that haven't they, and secondly they will just have to admit to themselves that regardless of the situation Edd will more than likely be living there anyways." Seeing that this didn't help his concern she continues, "Look pumpkin, even if they say no and do their best to keep him from being at your place twenty four seven, he turns eighteen in a few months and there is nothing they can say after that now can they."

"You're right," Kevin's face lit up a little at the realization, "Even if it isn't right away, we will be living together eventually."

"That's the spirit, don't sweat the small stuff." She smiled at him, glad that she could help him out even if it was only a little.

* * *

Angelica's advice was pretty much the same as Alice's, with a few minor differences, "Ok D, the way I see it is if you want them to agree to this , you need to remind them how responsible you are. And if it doesn't happen, you can just wait till you turn eighteen." She looked around the aisle they were in, looking for a cheap but nice set of pots and pans for the boy's new apartment.

"Yes I just have to remind Mother and Father how responsible I am and that it will not interfere with my school. " He put a kitchen utensil kit into the shopping cart.

Finding a set of pans she holds it up for his approval, he nods and she places it in the cart, "Speaking of responsible, you still going to skip work for me this weekend?"

"I thought the objective was to show them I could be, not the opposite." Edd looked at her with a brow cocked, as he dropped in a manual can opener in the cart.

She gave him a knowing smile to tell him to drop the front, "Well that's such a shame, looks like it's just going to be me and Kevin then. I wonder how many naughty little secrets I can yank from him while you're not around." She gave a little laugh at the end of her tease at the look of disbelief that was on his face.

"You wouldn't dare." He was still a little shocked by her teasing threat.

She bit her bottom lip and smiled at him again, "Of course not darling, come on its only one day and they will survive without you there." Edd started steering the cart up to the front of the store.

"Alright fine, why does the responsible one have to do the irresponsible things?" Edd did a few calculations in his head, if he had it right and he hoped he did, then he and Kevin should be able to start looking for a place and hopefully be out of his parent's house by the end of next week. Provided they said yes of course.

"Because it makes the rest of us look better, you know lowering the bar as they would say." She nudged him lightly with her shoulder.

"Ha Ha, very funny Angelica." Edd said as he placed the items on the counter to be paid for.

* * *

The rest of the week Edd worked up the courage to ask his parents about moving in with Kevin, but failed miserably at it. Always starting the conversation but switching it before he got to actually ask the question. And before he knew it the week was over and the first weekend in June arrived, Angelica was at the house bright and early that morning helping Edd shove Kevin out of bed and hurrying him along to get ready as fast as possible. Both boy's took the time to call into their works that day before Angelica practically shoved them out the door and into her mother's car. Swinging by to pick up Eddy, the four of them made their way out of town and toward the city of Summerville. Kevin laid his head in Edd's lap as they made the hour long trip, looking out the window Edd asks, "So do you mind telling me why we are going to Summerville?"

"Pride darling." Angelica looked at him through the rear view mirror.

"Pride," Eddy scoffed, "That's so vague."

She pats him on the knee, "The LGBT Pride march Eddy."

Eddy folds his arms over his chest and slumps down in the chair, "But I'm not gay, why do I got to go?"

"Well Eddy, you're friends with them, so it's good to show your support," She points to the backseat with her thumb, "And secondly, if you were honest about your romantic feelings for Edd last year then you're a part of the community to, so get over it already." Slumping into his seat further he just mutters to himself about not wanting to be seen in no stupid parade. Arriving early to Summerville the group stopped and got them something to eat at Bob Evan's before continuing to where Angelica was told the parade would start. She drug the boys around the area, through the crowds that composed of Drag queens and kings, leather clad biker gals straddling their Harley's , burly bears in leather jackets, parents of every conceivable pairing possible walking with their kids, twink's, otter's, wolves, jocks and chickens were all out in show today, leather daddies to silver daddies, the community was there to show its many splendid colors of diversity. There were floats for several of the local bars, a few showcasing their strippers and drag entertainers, floats for PFLAG, floats for transgender equality, along with floats from a few corporate sponsors to only name a few.

Making her way to a certain area Angelica looked around trying to spot someone in the crowds, having her attention drawn to a patio at the back of the areas gay bar by someone calling her name. Grabbing Edd's hand she made her way over there as quickly as she could, "There you are hun, I was beginning to wonder if you all would make it." Sammy embraced her and kissed her on the cheek, turning his shoulders and looking behind him he waves a Asian male over. Putting his arm around him he introduces her, "Kyle this is Angelica and her friends Edd, Kevin and I don't believe I caught your name."

"Eddy." The irritated boy spoke out.

Kyle catching a glimpse of Edd's scare inquired, "You're the boy those other teenagers tried to kill, aren't you." He motioned to the boy's neck as his reasons for asking, Edd nods sheepishly and tries to cover the scar with his hand, wishing he had wore a shirt with a collar now. "I'm sure you're glad they got what they deserved, though I think that forth boy got off a little too lightly in my opinion."

Sammy motions toward a nearby table on the patio, "Now honey let's not talk about anything unpleasant, I'm sure the boy has had enough of it with the trial and all." Kyle gives Sammy an apologetic look, kisses him on the cheek and whispers yes dear.

A figure approaches handing Sammy a bottled water, "This is all they had, they didn't have the other kind you wanted." Kevin looks up and his stomach drops.

"Oh yes, you all might know my nephew, he goes to the same school as you do." The boy looks in their direction and sees Kevin and Edd could tell he was uncomfortable. "Justin here just made quarterback for his senior year."

Kyle looked just as proud about it, "If only those jocks knew they had a queen leading their team." Kyle quipped.

"So you're gay now." Kevin said bitterly to the boy, Justin opened his mouth but failed to produce any words.

Sammy looking a little confused with the interaction speaks up for the boy, "Yes, he came out last month, said that you and Edd gave him the courage to do so." Not seeing any change in Kevin's expression he continues, "He's only come out to family though, so please let him come out to his peers on his own terms." Kevin gets up and storms off and into the crowd.

"I'm so sorry." Edd apologized and ran after Kevin catching up to his fiancée he grabs him by the arm, "Kevin, what is the matter?"

Kevin's face was twisted in what Edd could best describe as furry mixed with disbelief, "That boy was one of the guys that jumped me last year when I came out, he is part of the reason I quit football and now have no hope of getting a scholarship." He breathed in and out a few times to calm himself, "And now they want me to keep his secret."

Edd took a hold of Kevin's hands and squeezed them gently, "You don't know what was going through his mind back then, remember what your fear did to you."

Bringing his forehead against Edd's he breathed out, "I know, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret it."

Edd kisses his cheek, "Just do me a favor, if he tries to apologize do him the kindness of hearing him out." The sessions with Dr. Lee had been paying off, and Edd was learning how to forgive and let go, hopefully Kevin could as well.

As they broke away from their moment, Sammy walks up to them clasps Kevin on the shoulder and looked him in the eyes, "They are going to start the parade here soon, you all are welcome to march with us." He didn't want to push the situation with Kevin, he had already gotten all he needed to know from Justin and knocked him upside the head letting the boy know he needed to make an effort to apologize.

"Yeah that would be great," Kevin forced a smile upon his face, not wanting to be rude, it wasn't Sammy's fault after all. The group formed up with The Summerville Youth Group to march down Main Street for twelve blocks until they reached the park the event would be held that year.

Along the way a familiar voices calls out, "Well Mr. Barr, sick are we?" Kevin looks over and see Alice walking along side a shorter red head man in glasses.

Smiling a little maybe out of nerves he responds, "Yep, came down with a nasty case of I don't give a fuck."

Making a O shape with her mouth, then smiling, "Well you don't tell and I won't tell."

"Why Alice, I never." Kevin said smirking at her.

"Yep, she's playing hooky to." The red head beside her said.

Motioning to the man beside her she introduced them, "Kevin, Edd this is my husband Kevin."

The red head tipped his baseball cap at them, "Nice to meet you two." Looking up at his wife, "You were right dear they do look perfect together."

She pats the mans hand that she held with her right hand, "When am I ever wrong pumpkin," She turns back to the boys and waves goodbye, "You boys have fun." And the sped up their walk to catch up to one of the floats up ahead of them.

The event at the end of the parade route had a cover charge to help cover the costs and also allow them organizers to put a wrist band on those who were underage so they couldn't drink. The area was filled with different booths from a variety of organizations that support the LGBT community. From the corporate sponsors that were in the parade, to different church's that accepted the community with open arms, along with booths that sold pride wear from charms and earrings to T-shirts and hats. Upon the stage in the center of the park a few drag queens and kings were entertaining the crowd by lip-syncing to a few well know artists. One in particularly impressed Kevin by doing a summersault in stilettos then continuing to dance vigorously through the rest of the song never breaking a sweat or the heals.

As the night wound down, Kevin was getting him and his fiancée something to drink and eat when he was confronted by Justin. "Look man, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what we did to you." The boy's eyes spoke true with his words.

Though Edd's words rang in his ears Kevin couldn't help being mad at the boy that stood before him, and it was heard in his voice. "You should be, what you and those assholes did to me was uncalled for." He took in a breathe, trying to calm himself and do as Edd said and hear the guy out.

"I'm sorry I was scared," His tone was desperate to get across what he needed to say, 'If I didn't I thought they might look at me and figure me out." His eyes were pleading for understanding.

Kevin let out a sigh and thought for a minute, "I didn't do anything to any of you, I thought what I had contributed to the team would have been enough, but all they saw was a filthy fag." Kevin spoke that last part remembering what Justin had called him as he kicked him in the stomach while he lay on the floor of the locker room being beaten by the team.

Sadness and shame etched itself across Justin's features as what he had done was thrown in his face, "I know nothing I say can undo the wrong I have done to you, I just wanted you to know that I am sorry." He turns to walk away.

Kevin speaks, stopping the boy in his tracks, "It's alright, it might take me some time to forgive you, but I am glad you said it though." He thought about it for a moment but decided to extend his had to Justin to show the boy he was working on forgiving him, Justin takes it and gives it a single shake. "I've been there too you know, fear can make us do stupid things." Having said his peace and not wanting to prolong the conversation any further, Kevin walks off to go sit with his friends and the love of his life and in his own time forgive someone who had done him wrong.


	46. Parental Advisory

Chapter 46- Summer- Parental Advisory

 **A/N- To answer the one thing on some peoples minds, yes I am working out the doom to come, it's not going to be as dramatic as the Nazz events but hey, so enjoy the fluffy while you can.**

Kevin wakes up this morning to Edd nuzzling his head in his shoulder pressing his face against his neck breathing in his scent. He was massaging Kevin's chest with his right hand, his aroused manhood against Kevin's thigh. Kevin turns his head to face Edd, and the boy instantly joins their lips together despite the morning breath, moving his right hand he shifts Kevin's hips to face him and rub their morning wood together through their underwear. Breaking the kiss Kevin asks, "You sure?" Edd nods biting his bottom lip, "I just don't want to push you."

"I'm ready." It has been a little over four months since they had last been intimate, the last time being right before Edd was assaulted by Nazz and Mitchell. Kevin understood that Edd needed time to recover from the incident and didn't push for it, taking care of himself physically in the shower and Edd emotionally in the bed as they cuddled. Now here it is, Edd is inching down his stomach kissing his flesh every few inches working his way toward his erection that was trapped in his underwear. Kevin is biting his knuckles trying to stifle the moan threatening to escape his lips.

Edd took his hands and tugs on the elastic waistband, Kevin lifts his hips to allow Edd an easier time at removing said garment. Kevin's cock is pulled downward with the fabric and once the elastic went past the head it popped back upwards, smacking Edd in the face. The boy stifled a giggle at being smacked in the face by the hard cock, and then turned his attention to the stiff piece of meat in front of him. Bringing his lips to bear upon the shaft he sucked gently, pressing his lips against it as though kissing on it as he made his way up to the tip and sucking the head into his mouth. Positioning it upwards using the suction of his mouth to lift it off Kevin's stomach he slides down on it, swallowing it down his throat keeping it down there as he bobs up and down slightly producing the delicious friction that was driving Kevin crazy.

Kevin is running his hands through Edd's hair, meeting his movements with his hips. Eager to get the show on the road Edd comes off Kevin's cock and pulls his own underwear off quickly then straddles the jock, pulling a condom and the lube from the drawer by the bed he sheaths Kevin and lubes himself and Kevin up then positions the stiff cock at his hole and slides down upon it. Locking their lips passionately together pouring all his need into that kiss, Edd was craving Kevin's touch, desiring every inch of contact the jock could give him. Kevin was holding onto Edd's hip with his left and running his right hand over his loves chest and stomach. Coming down to Edd's cock he uses the pre cum that was oozing from the tip as lube, he strokes Edd's cock to match the slow pace the boy was riding him. They gazed into each other's eyes, and to both of them this act was more than a physical need, it was a need to express the love they shared for one another. With the excitement and desire they had, it didn't take either of them long to reach the edge, Kevin going over first, releasing his seed into the reservoir of the condom, and Edd all over the chest and stomach of his lover.

Both boys breathing heavily Edd collapses into Kevin's embrace, the red head enveloping him in his strong arms, running his fingers through Edd's raven locks. "I needed that," Edd breathed out, not caring about the mess that was being squished between their two bodies.

"So did I." Kevin kissed Edd's temple, "I love you," another kiss then he takes a deep inhale taking in Edd's scent savoring it and then exhales slowly, looking at the clock it's only five in the morning and both parents were still fast asleep. "Come on, let's get cleaned up." Leading Edd to the bathroom he starts the water in the shower, letting it warm up, then ushers Edd into the shower and he follows behind him quickly, washing the boy as Edd did the same for him.

After they were clean and rinsed off Edd puts his hand behind Kevin's neck and brings him down for a kiss and breaths out "Thank you," once the kiss was broken.

"For what?" Kevin looked confused at the statement.

Edd looked a little sheepish and stared at the floor as he responded, "For being here for me." A little bit of Edd had always feared that his current situation would have driven Kevin away. The depression he suffered, the anxiety he had during this past year at school, the fact that they hadn't had sex for four months.

"I love you, ok, I'm here to help carry the burden," lifting Edd's chin so the boy was looking him in the eye, "You just have to let me sometimes." Kevin leans down and kisses the boy, Edd wraps is arms around Kevin's neck and deepens the kiss. Both their bodies told them they were ready for round two, but the water on the other hand had a different opinion turning cold on them and forcing them out of the shower. Going back to the room they got dressed and deposited their dirty clothes in the washer as they headed down stairs, entering the kitchen Kevin makes them breakfast, eggs over easy hash browns sausage and coffee. Edd and his mother had been teaching him how to cook for a few months now in preparation for his move, as he set the plate down in front of Edd and turned to get his own Kevin spoke. "We need to talk to your parents about the move."

Edd stirred the ketchup into his hash browns. "I know I've been trying to."

"I know you have babe," The toaster pops up and Kevin retrieves the toast for them, "But we are running out of time, that place below Alice will go fast. The boss is only giving us to the end of the week to decide, and I can't afford it without you." Kevin and Alice's boss owned the apartment building they were looking into moving to, the man was a hard ass at work but he did have a soft spot from time to time.

"Alright, alright I'll talk to mom when she wakes up, if anyone can talk dad into it she can." Edd took a bit of his toast that was drenched in egg yolk.

Kevin leans over and gives him a kiss, tasting the yolk on his lips, "I know she'll allow it."

"Allow what?" Edd's mother shimmies into the room half awake looking for the coffee that was already brewed, pouring herself a cup, she turns to face the two guilty looking boys as she sipped from the mug still awaiting an answer.

Kevin nudges Edd's foot under the table to urge the boy to answer his mother, "Ah, yes, well Kevin has found a really nice place to move into." Kevin gets up and offers her the seat and goes to make her some breakfast hoping to butter her up a little. Fidgeting with his hands Edd continues, "The thing is, he can't afford it on his own, and we were kind of wondering if I could move in with him."

Edd's mother didn't flinch, she had been expecting this question to be asked. "How much a month are we talking?" She takes a sip of her coffee casually.

"Well $550 for rent then hoping to average about $100 for electric then the usual amenities of food, cable and internet so looking at about $1000 a month give or take." Edd quickly took a drink of his own coffee hoping she would see the logic of him moving in with Kevin to help out, but all the while he could see his hopes being thrown upon the rocks at the bottom of the cliff of reality.

She knew that was a lot of money for Kevin to come up with on his own, and the boys even together would be barely squeaking by on part time jobs. "Just come by for dinner every once in a while." She sipped her coffee again, though she knew she should keep them under her protective wing for another year and let them save up, another part told her that the day would come eventually why fight it.

Edd was floored, he didn't think his mother would give in so easily, he was sure he would have to convince her of the merit of the request. "Y-you mean it?" Edd stuttered out, still not believing what he had just heard, Kevin smiled broadly behind her as he turned the sausage over.

"Yes dear, just," She paused taking both her boys in, wondering how they had grown up so fast, it only felt like yesterday that Edd was going on his first real date, or crying into her arms when the boy moved away, "Be good to each other." She leans forward and kisses him on the forehead, "And don't hesitate to ask for help, your father and I will do what we can, ok." She wipes away a tear that had fallen down her cheek, her baby was leaving the nest.

"Don't worry ma, I'll take good care of him." Kevin said as he cracked the eggs and put them in the pan.

Turning to face him she wages her finger at him as she breaks down a little bit, "You better young man."

Kevin pulls the pan off the burner and both he and Edd go in to comfort her, "You alright ma?" Kevin says rubbing her back comfortingly.

"Yes, I'm fine," She pulls a paper towel from the roll and dabs her eyes with it, "I just thought I had another year that's all."

"We're not going far, it's just down the road off main street." Edd said trying to comfort her just a little more.

Composing herself she took a drink of her coffee then set the cup back down, "So when do I get to see this place?"

Kevin made the call to his boss to let him know they would take it, as Leslie broke the news to her husband and also to help him see the light of the choice. If they were all sure this is what they wanted he would support them, their door would always be open to the boys if they needed to fall back and regroup. Just shortly after noon they were walking into the apartment to let the parents look at the place before they signed the papers and paid the deposit and rent for the remainder of the month. The apartment was a shotgun layout, four rooms straight in a row, the bedroom at the front of the building with three large windows that went from a foot from the floor to the ceiling. Tony looking at the old style windows spoke, "Going to have to put plastic insulation on those during the winter." The ceilings were tall being an older building, late 1800's to early 1900's in construction, "It's going to be hard to heat and cool this place," Tony spoke again, "Just have the ceiling fans pushing air upwards during the winter, that should circulate the heat off the ceiling." Tony checked the bathroom and kitchen for plumbing issues, then the stove and furnace to see if they were gas or electric, finally inspecting the back deck for sturdiness and fire safety as an escape route. "Well it's not much, but I'm sure you boys will make it a home." He took in the place one more time, "Reminds me of a place I had during my bachelor days." He smiled fondly as he reminisced his youth.

With both parents approval on the place they signed the lease and was about to hand over cash for the rent, Edd's mother stopped them. "Dears rule one never pay cash, you want proof you paid so always use checks," Looking at the landlord, "No offense, that way the bank has a copy in case you need it." Taking the money from them she writes a check out for the amount plus next month's rent.

Edd seeing the amount she made it out for protested, "Mom, you didn't have to do that," he looked on as the check is passed from one hand to the next, his mother not paying a bit of attention to his protest.

"Call it our house warming gift." She turns and hugs both the boys as the landlord handed Tony the keys and then left the apartment, "Now, who wants lunch? There's a place right on the corner that make a marvelous Reuben." Leading them all out the door, Tony locked up and handed the keys to Kevin, they all headed down the stairs and out for a quiet lunch, while checking rentals for a small moving van along with kicking Eddy into gear to help them with the move that coming weekend. The rest of the week for the boys was spent packing up their belongings and getting a few more essentials for the apartment, both boys excitement boiling over as the prospect of alone time and freedom from parental supervision was now within their grasp.


	47. Home Coming

Chapter 47 – Home Coming

 **A/N- Hmmmm more fluffy times, maybe some shook, and definitely a surprise or two. Shenanigans most certainly, a few things broken absolutely. Enjoy. Warnings: Language, sexual situation, alcohol use and drug use.**

The weekend came and all four friends were able to finagle their way out of working that Saturday to help with the move, it took a little convincing to get Eddy to agree to help, but once onboard he proved rather eager to assist them. After receiving the financial help from Edd's parents for the upcoming month the boys were able to purchase a small glass top dinning set for their kitchen, which they procured when they picked up the bedroom set they had on layaway from Kevin's work. Loading the items up into the moving van they head down to the house to load the rest of their belongings, both parents helping them, though Leslie was still a emotional mess from time to time, having a group hug with the boys once the final item was loaded into the van, then a plethora of pictures to commemorate the moment. Finally getting underway after Tony stepped in to stop his wife from taking another picture, "Honey, I know," He hugged her as she scrunched her face up fighting the tears, "but they got to go, you can't keep them here all year taking pictures."

Edd waved goodbye to his parents as Kevin started the van in the direction of their new home, Angelica and Eddy following behind in Edd's car. Once there they set up the new kitchen table quickly and sat Angelica at it to handle unpacking items and placing them where they should go, like the kitchen items, or putting the movie collections upon the proper shelves in which Edd would point out to her. All the while the three boys would bring up the furniture through the tight hallway stairs, Eddy and Kevin bickering about how best to turn a piece of furniture to fit it through the door, Angelica having to break them up on more than one occasion, "Boy's you don't want me to come out there and settle this," or "I will knock some sense into the both of you, pregnant or not I can still kick your asses." Both boys would then calm down and work more in sync with each other after she scolded them, after about two hours all the furniture was out of the moving van and up the stairs, Eddy and Kevin returned the van to the rental store and came back home as Edd and Angelica continued to unpack boxes of knickknacks and dishes. They set to work putting together the bed and laying out the bedroom the way they wanted it, placing the bed against the wall so they could look out the windows at night, both of them agreeing it would be romantic to watch the snow fall in the winter as they lay cuddled together in the bed. The living room consisted of a recliner, a fold out futon couch, a pair of end tables, coffee table and Edd's TV and small entertainment center. The furniture didn't match each other at all, it was a hodgepodge of different styles and colors, but it was home their home and it made them happy.

Around noon there was a knock at the door, Edd opening it finds Alice standing there holding a platter, "Why hello neighbor, just thought I would come down and bring you all some lunch."Edd stands to the side and lets her in, closing the door behind her. Giving a devilish smirk to the boy she continues, "Besides it gives me an excuse to be nosey." Escorting her to the kitchen he cleared off a space on the table for her to place the tray down, calling out to the rest of the group that lunch had arrived they sat and had a quick lunch together. Sitting back in the chair as she ate, Alice surveyed the next room, "So what are you planning to do with that room?"

"Probably turn it into a game room when we get more furniture." Kevin answered then took a bite of the sandwich she had brought.

"I'm so proud of you two, making your dreams a reality, see pumpkin I told you it would work out, you just had to have faith." Alice reached forward and pinched his cheek playfully.

"That's what I said," Angelica looks to Edd, "You need to pay attention to what this woman has to say darling, I got a feeling she won't steer you wrong."

"Speaking of steering people in the wrong direction," All four of them perked up at what Alice was about to say, "We need to have a party tonight, you guys invite your friends we'll invite ours and make it a little social get together to welcome you to your new place." She looked from boy to boy gauging their reactions to her suggestion, Kevin looked more against it then Edd in her opinion.

"I don't know Alice, we just moved in and I'm not sure if we will have the place cleaned up in time." Kevin said rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Come on it's my weekend off, " She pouted a little at the boy, giving her best puppy dog eyes, "I'll help you finish up here it shouldn't take too long to get the place presentable." Alice wasn't going to take no for an answer, it was the perfect idea in her opinion and the boys would enjoy it. "And don't use "well I have to work tomorrow' as an excuse, I know you don't go in till the evening, so nip that in the butt right now mister." She pointed her finger at Kevin, who looked back at her like I child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Turning to Edd, "You off tomorrow sweetie?" Edd nods to her question, "Then that settles it, hurry up and eat and let's get this place looking at least have way decent." She had an air of determination on her face that told both boys she would not be denied this and it was probably best to just go along with her. Within 3 hours they had the place presentable, between Edd and Alice's attention to detail and clean freak personalities the whole process was a cinch, "Alright boys and girls I'll see you back here in three hours," Looking at Kevin she pokes him in the chest playfully, "And you better answer the door." Taking her leave of the friends to go make a few calls, while Edd drove Eddy and Angelica to their houses so they could get ready as well, Angelica was excited and eager to make a few phone calls herself. Kevin took the time while alone to go ahead and do some final touches to the place, hanging some white Christmas lights around the top of the living room walls hoping it gave the room some ambiance.

When Edd arrived back home he had a few items for the upcoming event, some veggie and meat platters and drinks, being kind of nervous about hosting the event in their new place he wasn't really sure what he should provide for his guests, hoping what he had got was enough for whoever Alice brought. At half past five they were just about ready for the evening when they got the first knock on the door, feeling the knot in his stomach grow from his nerves Edd opens the door and breaths out a sigh of relief when he sees Eddy and Angelica on the other side of the door, leaning against the opposite wall from the door was Justin, "Hope you don't mind that I brought a plus one." Angelica said as she walked into the apartment, the two boys in tow behind her.

"Thanks for having me." Justin said meekly as he passed Edd at the door.

"You're welcome anytime." Edd said politely to the boy, smiling warmly, Justin returned the smile shyly but Edd could tell that he was happy to be there.

Kevin casually ushers Angelica into the bedroom as Edd took the two boys into the kitchen to help finish up the preparations for the evening. He closes the door behind him and turns to the woman, "Why did you have to bring him?"

Angelica scowls at him crossing her arms, "Believe it or not he needs friends to, you and Edd are the only out and proud people in school." Kevin had opened his mouth to say something but she cuts him off, "Tommy doesn't count," She then mutters under her breathe "that self-centered arrogant prick" then continues to address Kevin, "I know you're still a little upset with him for what happened, but please just take a chance and get to know the real him, for me."

Kevin lets out a sigh and slumps his shoulders in defeat, how could he say no to someone who believed in and stood up for him telling others to give him a second chance. "Alright Ang, for you." Opening the door again he lets her lead the way to the kitchen to help finish getting ready. "What you got there Skipper?" Kevin said seeing the boy pull a bottle from his bag.

"Just a little something to help liven this shindig up." Eddy said holding the bottle of vodka up for Kevin to see, "Swiped it from my parent's liquor cabinet."

"How thoughtful Eddy." Edd said taking the bottle from the boy and looking at it wondering where he might hide it from his friend.

A few moments later Alice and her husband arrived carrying a few more trays of finger foods, setting the trays on the table she turns to the boys, "I only invited a few people over, giving you a chance to meet the rest of the Family in this sleepy little town."

Both Kevin and Edd looked a little confused, was she bringing her family to the part? Mr. Anderson seeing their confusion clarifies, "She means the other gay people in the area." It was Eddy's turn to look confused, but realization quickly hit him as he put the pieces together.

"Give me that." Alice says snatching the bottle from Edd's hands. Shortly after Alice and her husband had arrived the guest started to show up.

After welcoming everyone to their home as they entered, both Kevin and Edd stood beside Alice's Kevin and surveyed the small crowed of thirty people that were in their small apartment. It was an eclectic group spanning the spectrum of the LGBT community, each one of them chatting amongst themselves as thought they had been long time friends and probably were, Kevin leans to the other Kevin and asks, "So this is what she calls only a few people."

"Yep, she is a bit of a social butterfly." He looks at the red head and explains further, "After high school she really settled down and got over the anger her parents caused her, she got out there and did what she wanted and before we knew it had a big extended family to call our own." He steps away and turns to look at the both of them, "She thinks of the two of you as her kids," He smiles warmly at them, "So if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask." He walks off casually to go find his wife in the crowd and discover what trouble she was causing. The small amount of booze that Eddy had procured had long been drunk by the of age guests at the party, so the vibe of the room was a mellow one, which was a good feeling to the boys.

"I should really go see how Eddy's doing." Edd said to Kevin then kissed his fiancé before walking off to survey the crowds for his friend, finding the boy on the back porch joint in hand taking a drag off of it. "Eddy!"

"What, it's just a joint man," Eddy said looking at his friend with confusion, "Remember we use to do this all the time."

"That was before Ed got locked up." Edd leaned on the rail next to his friend looking into the house through the kitchen window, seeing Justin talking to Kevin.

"Excuse me for enjoying a buzz every now and then." He takes another hit off the joint and holds the smoke, exhaling a big cloud a few seconds later

Seeing the smile on both boys faces as Justin and Kevin talked, Edd asks his friend, "So what do you think of Justin?" He didn't want to feel jealous but his own self esteem gets the better of him sometimes.

"He's an alright guy, but when he looks at you I get this weird feeling, like he's got the hots for you." Eddy's own jealousies that he thought he had worked out long ago was stirred, he kept telling himself to just be friends with Edd but one cannot so easily steer the course of love sometimes.

Edd wasn't certain about all that, "Me, you must be joking, whatever would he see in me." To Edd the look he was seeing from Justin now toward Kevin looked kind of like what Eddy had described, longing. "Maybe you're mistaken and he was looking at Kevin."

"Nope pretty sure it was you," Eddy takes another drag off the joint, "He was giving you the come fuck me eyes in the kitchen earlier, while Kevin was talking to Ang."

"I think your just imagining things." Edd said taking the joint from his friend and taking a deep drag from it, maybe he was reading way too much into Justin actions and seeing things his fear wanted him to see.

"There you boys are." Alice said walking out of the door snatching the joint from Edd and taking a small hit, "This is bad for you sweetie." She exhales the smoke.

"Says the mother hen partaking of the sin." Edd quipped back at her.

"Touché." She hands the joint back to Eddy who quickly looked up to the lady standing before him and started to talk, Edd didn't hear the conversation as he looked through the window and saw a face enter the house he hadn't seen in a while.

Stepping through to the kitchen he made his way to the living room and hugged the man deeply, tears threatening to stream down his face, "When did you get out?"

"Today actually." Ed said returning the hug with bone crushing effect, Angelica looks over and drops her glass and quickly made her way over to the man, Ed releases Double D and takes her into his arms pulling back a few seconds later to wipe the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs as he cradle her face in his hands. "I know baby, I missed you to." He kisses her on the forehead then the lips. Looking from her to his two friends he spoke, "I see a lot has changed since I've been away, when did this happen?"

"Today actually." Kevin said as he had come up and put his arm around Edd to watch the happy reunion of the lovers soon to be parents.

"Cool," He held onto Angelica tightly but gently, looking at her belly and rubbing it with his free hand in awe at the life that was forming inside of her. Snapping out of his daze he looks around, "Where's Eddy?"

Double D looked around the crowd and then through the kitchen window but did not see Eddy or Alice anywhere, "He was just outside a minute ago." Shrugging it off the four of them returned to the party, Ed and Angelica stealing themselves away in the bedroom for a little alone time.

She lay upon the bed her elbows propping her up to see the man she loved caressing her belly and whispering to the life inside. "Hey you," he kisses her belly, "You're going to come out and say hi soon aren't you," another kiss to her belly, she giggles at the sensation and his affection toward their child. "I can't wait to meet you Michael, we'll play catch and I'll teach you to ride a bike, there's all this neat stuff out here so you be a good boy and come and meet your family soon." He caresses her belly again with the tips of his fingers then leans up and kisses her, "I love you."

Another kiss, "I love you too, I'm glad your home." She runs her fingers along his jaw line which had stubble upon it making him even sexier in her eyes.

"Baby," He pulls a little box from his pocket and places on her belly, opening it he displays a gold band that looked like vines that held the diamond in place, "Will you marry me, and make us a family."

She brings both her hands up to her face to cover the tears that were forming in her eyes, sliding her hands down to her nose so she could look at him she nods and whispers, "Yes." They kiss passionately before he places the ring upon her finger. They lay upon the bed for some times reaffirming their love for one another, outside the room the party started to die down, and Eddy was still nowhere to be found and Edd was getting worried, it had been a few hours since they talked on the porch. As the last of the party goers left Ed, Angelica, Double D, Kevin, and Justin were lounging in the living room having brought in a few chairs from the kitchen.

Alice's Kevin had gone upstairs to see where his wife had gone to, coming back down a moment later with her in tow, Alice stood on one side of the door holding her hands as though she was presenting someone. "Ladies and Gentlemen making her Peach Creek debut in a black cape-sleeve sequined-knit gown, Edina Divine." Everyone's jaw dropped as a woman with very familiar features entered through the front door of the apartment.

Seeing everyone looking in her direction she opens her mouth and Eddy's voice comes out, "What? Does it look that bad?"

Edd quickly got up and hurried over to his friend, "Oh no, you look lovely."

Alice came over and placed her hands on the budding drag queens shoulders, "I think she looks fabulous, if I do say so myself." Seeing a few confused looks she explains, "Edina here came to me and expressed an interest in drag, didn't you dear."

Edina nodded her head and meekly explained, fearing rejection from her friends, "Seeing those performers during pride kind of spoke to me, I felt like that was a piece of me that I was missing."

"We support ya dude," Ed said rather boisterously holding up his drink to his friend, "Whatever makes you happy we're there for you."

Looking at Ed, "When the hell did you get here?" then turning from one friend to the other she saw them all give their agreement, and the fear of rejection melted away, as long as she had her friends with her she knew she could do anything. Double D hugged her and whispered in her ear, "We will always be there for you."

Pulling away Edina's eyes threatened tears, "Oh honey don't cry," Alice said handing her a napkin, "Remember dab don't wipe, you'll ruin your make up and I spent way too much time on that." They spent the next hour enjoying each other's company, dancing to music, or Edina lip-syncing to I Will Survive with a near mishap that ended with her twisting her ankle trying to show off in heels. Justin helping her to her feet while Alice was saying, "Honey, you got to learn to walk before you can run." All in all the friends had a good night together, reunions where had, secrets shared and memories made, no better way to warm a house then with friendship and the love you share with them.


	48. You Go to My Head

Chapter 48 – Summertime – You Go to My Head

 **A/N- Sorry it's been a minute since I last updated, but I have been taking time to do other things as well. WoW and D &D to name a couple. I assure you I am not going anywhere for the foreseeable future, just have to have some unwind and think time. Thank you all for all your great reviews, I really appreciate hearing from you and hope to continue to bring you stories you enjoy. Warning: Sexual situations**

Kevin waved goodbye to his friends as they were the last of the guests to leave that night, closing the door he leans against it and smiles at his fiancé who was busy in the kitchen putting the food away in the fridge. Seeing that Edd was properly preoccupied, Kevin sneaks off into the bedroom, Edd put the last meat tray into the fridge all neatly wrapped, he could swear they would be set in lunch meat for a month. Not hearing much noise from Kevin he turns to look into the adjoining room, expecting to see Kevin helping him clean up but found an empty room instead, "He must be in the living room." Walking to the door that joined the two rooms he peeks through but still no Kevin, "Kevin Anthony Barr you better not be asleep," He calls to the closed bedroom door

A soft "Fuck," was heard behind the closed bedroom door and then a louder reply, "I'll be right out." A few minutes later he opened then closed the door behind him, Kevin was sucking on the tip of his thumb as though it was in pain. Quietly walking into the next room he finds Edd busy cleaning up the plastic cups left by their guests, Kevin walks up behind his dork and encircles his arms around the man he loved, startling the man in the process but Edd easies into the embrace. Kevin kisses the nap of his neck and then moves along the side and up to his ear nipping it gently as he ran a hand up the front of Edd's shirt to rub his thumb across his nipple eliciting a moan from Edd. Rubbing his growing manhood against Edd's backside he releases the lob from his teeth and breaths out lustfully, "I've got a surprise for you."

Edd's mind was short-circuiting from Kevin's touch and needful embrace, turning to face his love, he kisses him, "And,' another kiss, "The cleaning?"

Kevin kisses him deeply parting his lips and savored the taste of his hearts one true desire, the raven haired man in his arms legs started to feel weak from the passion of the kiss and wrapped his arms around Kevin's strong neck for support. Breaking the kiss they both were panting softly for air as their hearts raced, yearning for more contact from the other, "Leave it." Kevin reached down and took Edd up into his arms and carried him bridal style to the bedroom, pushing the door open gently with his foot revealing what Kevin had been up to. The room was adorn with several fluted candles which were the only source of light, bringing forth a gentle warm glow, laying Edd gently on the bed Kevin joins him quickly pulling the man close to him by the hips. Locking their lips together once again both men poured their love for one another into that kiss, Edd caressing Kevin's jaw line with the palm of his hand, while Kevin's hand was under Edd's shirt flicking his nipple with his thumb making the bud perk up.

Grinding their hips together, feeling their bulges pressed up against one another increased the desire boiling in their blood. Kevin reaches down to the hem of Edd's shirt and pulls it off breaking their kiss in the process, he redirects his attention bringing his mouth down to the nipple he had been teasing gently forcing Edd onto his back. Kevin's hand messaged the bulge in Edd's jeans a soft moan escaping the man's lips as his lover nipped gently at the bud of his nipple. Edd's right hand running through Kevin's fiery locks his left sliding down the jocks back to grab the base of his shirt and pull, Kevin happily obliged and removed the shirt. Once removed Edd pushes the jock onto his back and straddles his lap, grabbing his hands he interlaces their fingers together and holds them over the jocks head. Another passionate kiss as Edd rocks his hips back and forth teasing the bulge in Kevin's pants. Between kisses Kevin breathed out, "I love you, Edd." Edd's heart swelled, he had heard these words hundreds of times from the jock, but it never stopped feeling like the first, he could lay in those strong protective arms forever and be content with life. Releasing his grip on the jocks hands Kevin lifts up into a sitting position their bare chest clashing together, undoing Edd's jeans with one hand he reaches in a takes hold, rubbing his thumb over the tip he slicked the pre-cum over the head sending a wave of pleasure up Edd's spin.

Edd took the hint and rolled off long enough for both men to shed the last bit of their clothing then Kevin rolls Edd back on top of him, their bare erect cocks rubbing and sliding against one another as Edd continued to move his hips as they kissed. Both of Kevin's hands were kneading Edd's ass cheeks helping to direct the movement of his hips, releasing one cheek he bringing his right hand up and slides the back of it across Edd's smooth stomach and up his chest to cup his cheek with the palm of his hand and caress it with his thumb. They both paused and look into each other's eyes, the caring, warmth and love for one another expressed within. Edd smiles, receiving a warm smile in return from Kevin, he lifts up and leans back and Kevin's hand slides down his body in admiration of his beauty, reaching into the nightstand Edd retrieves the lube and shuts the drawer. Straightening back up Kevin grabs his hips and pulls them forward, opening his mouth he swallows Edd whole, Edd moans at the sensation of the warm wet mouth around him and slowly thrusts forward gasping for air when the head slid down Kevin's throat and slowly back out. Sliding all the way in again he holds it there rolling his hips to create mild movement and enjoying the sensation of Kevin's throat gripping the head of his cock. Pulling back out just a little to allow Kevin to breathe he looks down at the jock swallowing him and grabs a fist full of hair as he continued to thrust, the look of ecstasy on Kevin's face nearly sent Edd over the edge, "I need you Kevin." The red head understood his meaning and moaned around Edd's cock sending vibrations through the dork that were too much for him, he spills his seed in Kevin's mouth, and he swallowed it greedily.

Edd shuddering as the waves of pleasure crash over him, Kevin looks up at Edd as the pleasure rolled through him, the look upon his loves face was exquisite, it stoked the fire of desire with in him to greater heights. Composing himself Edd brought his hips back and his cock out of the jocks mouth, clearing his mind from the post orgasmic bliss he set to task and uncapped the lube, squeezing a generous amount into his hand he reaches behind him and applies the majority to Kevin's engorged cock and the rest to his waiting hole. Grabbing the base Edd positioned Kevin and slides down slowly, Kevin lets out a shaky moan, "Fuck," as Edd slowly hilted his cock. Kevin knew that bare backing felt so much better, having experienced it once or twice in his life, but this blew those out of the water, to be so intimate with the one you loved, so close to them and cherished, there was nothing that could compare to that, nothing. Edd began to rock his hips to help relax his muscles, his prostate being massaged by the impressive piece sending shivers up his spin and a spasm through his muscles that tightened his grip on Kevin. The red head lapped at Edd's neck with his tongue and followed the jaw line to his loves lips, sucking on the man's bottom lip as a wave of pleasure hit him. Edd had changed his tactics, instead of just rocking his hips he was now riding his stallion, sliding up then bucking back down.

Both men were gasping for air between kisses as Edd rode Kevin, tender words of adoration whispered to each other as they gazed lovingly into the others eyes. This mix of love and pleasure lasted several minutes more before Kevin reached the edge, "D, I'm going to come."

Edd kept his pace steady, bringing their sweaty foreheads together he breathed heavily, "Cum for me daddy." That was the push that set Kevin over the edge, unloading deep within his love, his head flung back as he groaned, Edd sucking upon the sensitive part of his neck, enjoying the salty taste of Kevin's skin. After the waves of pleasure subsided, Edd dismounts and the two cuddle facing one another kissing gently and basking in post orgasmic bliss, Edd breathed in deeply taking in the smell of his lover, "That was nice."

Kevin hums his approval and kisses him, "Yes it was." A nagging thought enters Kevin's mind, and though he knew Edd's status from all the blood work he had in the hospital he was concerned with his own. "Come on lets go take a shower." The pair went to their bathroom and cleaned themselves, washing each other and continuing to express their love through the exchange of gentle kisses. Once clean and dressed for bed, they cuddled under the covers, the thought was still nagging Kevin in the back of his mind. He had to bring voice to his concerns, "Edd, babe, I enjoyed what we did but,"

"You're concerned that we should have gotten tested first." Edd finished for him, his voice was understanding of his loves concerns.

"Yeah," Kevin sighed then continued, "I know your fine because of the hospital, so my concern is not with you giving me anything." He swallowed the lump that had been forming in his throat and took a breath to calm his nerves, "I am more concerned with the, what if I have given you something, thoughts."

"Kevin I understand your concerns," Edd spoke softly, he didn't think his fiancé would be this worried about it, "I trust you and I am pretty sure you are clean."

"I know, I know I'm just being paranoid, but I just want to make sure before we do that again." He knew he was more than likely HIV negative, having used protection with most everyone he had been with other then that once or twice experience. But if there was even a small chance he needed to be sure, for it would destroy him if he hurt Edd again, even unintentionally.

"I understand, I shouldn't have pushed us to do that," Edd said burying his face in the crock of Kevin's neck, "I just believe that I am yours and you are mine, from here until the end of time."

Kevin's heart skipped a beat, "Do you mean that?" Kevin was showing his insecurities a little, only Edd ever got to see this side of him.

"I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't." Edd said holding up his ring finger and wiggling it a little.

"So, if the test come out…."

"I would be there," bringing his head out of the crook of Kevin's neck he looks the red head in the eyes, "Through it all, I would be there."

Kevin tightly hugs Edd and kisses his neck, "I love you too, dork." They made plans to set Kevin's mind at easy and get tested as soon as possible. They settled down and quickly fell asleep in each other's arms, the two of them slept soundly that night, secure in the knowledge that this was the first night of many that they would share together in their own bed in their own home holding each other tightly.


	49. Once Upon A Midnight Dreary

Chapter 49 – Once Upon A Midnight Dreary

 **A/N- I'm sorry but this chapter is going to be a little sad, though I have made Edd happy these past few chapters we must remember he suffers depression and always has hence the logical and emotional sides I have used in the past to express this, the Nazz incident just made it worse within him. Depression is funny in a way that one moment you're fine and then the next you have fallen down the rabbit hole gasping for air. A song that I suggest and as always will let you know when to play is Fix You by Coldplay.**

Edd woke up early that morning, and early for Edd means four thirty in the morning early. The moment his mind snapped awake is when it began, the pit of his stomach was in a knot and felt like it was on fire, the anxiety within him was running rampant and the sadness was playing havoc with his mind. He knew he should get up and do something to distract his mind from its current state, but the sadness sapped his energy and the thought of leaving the bed quickly left him. _"_ _What have I done?"_ He thought to himself, _"_ _Why did I push for it?"_ He looks at Kevin's peaceful face as he slept, his arm was still around his waist hold him close. _"_ _I am going to push him away if I keep doing stupid things like that."_ Edd caress's his fiancé's cheek, _"_ _But I love him, and I want him to know how much I do and how much I trust him."_ Edd withdraws his hand and looks away from Kevin then whispers to himself "Stupid, you were stupid, all you did was make him worry." With each self deprecating word he spoke or thought the flame in the pit of his stomach would flare up and cause him emotional pain.

Kevin stirs, pulling Edd even closers to himself nuzzling his chin against Edd's shoulder and his nose against his cheek, "I love you," he says, Edd was half scared Kevin had heard him but quickly realizes he had been talking in his sleep.

The pit in his stomach was growing deeper and his emotional side was in control _"_ _Look at what you will be losing if you keep this up, look at how much he cares for you and you want to drive him away with your idiotic actions."_ Edd could feel the tears fill his eyes, and his throat tighten, _"_ _This is why your friends are moving on with their lives and way from you, because you're selfish, SELFISH, only ever thinking about yourself."_ A sob escapes his throat, he quickly pulls back the blanket and extracts himself from Kevin's grip.

"Where are you going?" The red head murmurs, he was barely awake enough to speak.

Edd swallows and takes a deep breath to contain himself long enough to get out, "The restroom." He gets out of the bed and walks out of the bedroom, Kevin quickly returns to a state of half asleep, the back of his mind said something was wrong but his brain hadn't woken up enough to fully realize it yet. Edd enters the bathroom and locks the door behind him, collapsing to the floor with his back against the door still holding the knob he begins to sob, muffling the sounds of his tears with his free hand. As his state of mind deteriorates his thoughts become darker, _"_ _He's going to leave you, and you'll be all alone, you will die alone, who would want a broke piece of shit like you, why does he still want you now for that matter, oh that's right financial support, he couldn't have the apartment without you helping out after all."_ Edd curls up into a ball and begins to sob into his knees, the logical side of his brain which was only a whisper at this point was telling him none of this was true that Kevin loved him and he needed to believe and focus on that and nothing more. The emotional side was still at it growing stronger with each second, _"_ _Once he finds someone to replace you, you'll be out the door and back to mommy's wont you. Maybe Justin will take your place, they looked good together didn't they, a perfect match for one another, they can run off and play football together wouldn't that be perfect."_ This course of thought continued for fifteen more minutes, Edd curled up with his back to the door sobbing into his knees arms covering his face.

Kevin's mind woke up finally, Edd wasn't curled up in his arms asleep and he reached over to try and find him but he wasn't there, _"_ _Oh that's right he went to the bathroom. How long ago was that?"_ Opening his eyes he looked at the clock it was five in the morning, he vaguely remembered the time he saw when Edd left the bed, it has been twenty minutes now. Getting up he makes his way to the bathroom letting out a small yawn as he walked across the carpeted floor, as he neared the bathroom door he could hear the light muffled sound of Edd crying. Tapping gently on the door he heard Edd jump as the movement was right on the other side of the door, "Edd, you all right?"

 **Begin the song here, Fix You by Coldplay.**

Edd whipped away the tears from his face with the heel of his hand, swallowed the cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm fine." But his voice cracked as he spoke giving him away even further.

"You don't sound alright," Kevin said softly, he was worried and he knelt down to where he knew Edd was sitting on the floor, "Why don't you open the door and let's talk about it."

Edd gets up and heads over to the sink, looking at himself in the mirror he didn't like what he saw at the moment his emotional side still playing with him, _"_ _Your tears will drive him away even faster."_ Edd turns on the water and starts to soak his hands to wash his face off hopefully to remove any evidence that he had been crying, "I'll be out in a minute."

Kevin waited patiently by the door for Edd to open it, and when it finally did Kevin saw the puffy bloodshot eyes which confirmed to him that Edd had been crying, but the look of those eyes told him so much more, that his love was still in pain. Reaching out he tried to caress Edd's cheek but Edd flinched from the touch, it wasn't that he didn't want Kevin to touch him, it was just his mind was rejecting any comfort at this moment. "What's the matter?" Kevin spoke softly, still seeing the pain in Edd's eyes and the fresh tears ready to spill at a moment's notice.

"I don't want to talk about it." Edd moves past him and toward the bedroom.

"Edd please," Edd continued toward the bedroom without turning to face him, Kevin had enough, "Damn it Edd stop and talk to me."

Edd halts in his tracks hearing the concern in Kevin's voice but doesn't turn to face him, "You won't like what you'll hear."

Kevin walks up to him and places his hand softly on Edd's shoulder, Edd tenses up as though the touch was painful to him, "Babe, I'm here for you, talk to me." Kevin says softly, Edd's shoulder begins to shack a little followed by quick choppy breathing, a sob escapes his lips. Kevin turns him gently to face him, pulling him into a tight huge and they both collapse to the floor. Kevin sooths Edd by rocking him back and forth, "Shhsshh, I'm here, I'm here it's alright."

Edd cries into Kevin's chest and tries to talk through the sobs, "I'm so stupid, I know I shouldn't be thinking this way."

Kevin could feel his heart breaking at the pain Edd was enduring, "No, you're not stupid Edd, talk to me tell me what's wrong, please."

Edd takes a minute to try and calm down as well as fight the thoughts that he will scare Kevin away if he confesses his fears to him, taking a few deep breaths he speaks but his voice was still shaky, "I'm scared I'm pushing you away."

"I'm not going anywhere." Kevin kept his voice soft and reassuring.

"I know that, deep down I do, but this," Edd smacks the side of his head with the palm of his hand, Kevin takes that hand so he wouldn't do it again, "Won't stop focusing on it," His emotional side chimes in _"_ _He's left you before."_ Edd squeezes his eyes shut tight as the tears continue to stream down his face, "I keep thinking that if I continue to mess up like I did tonight, or if I cry too much, or if I couldn't help out with the bills, that you will grow tired of me and leave."

"I'm here for the long haul babe," Kevin squeezed him tighter and could feel his own eyes starting to water, "You did nothing wrong tonight Edd," Kevin kissed his forehead, "I love you, and that's never going to change." Kevin didn't know what more he could do for Edd, and it made his heart ache for his fiancé.

They remained like that on the floor holding each other, Kevin comforting Edd as he slowly calmed down, focusing more so on his lovers affections then the irrational thoughts going through his mind. Finally the tears subsided, and in place of the anxiety and sadness that was in the pit of his stomach a moment ago he now felt numb, as though a small push could send him back over the edge again at any moment. Whipping the tears from his face again he looks up at Kevin, and Kevin could still see the sadness there though it had diminished slightly, "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologize about," Kevin said as he brushed Edd's bangs out of his face, "Do you want to sit here a little longer or should I help you to bed?"

"Bed." Edd replied, Kevin stands up then gently picks Edd up, cradling him in his arms as he carries him into the bedroom, setting him down gently upon the bed he covers him up.

Getting in on his side, he brings Edd to him to cuddle, "So, when's your next appointment with Dr. Lee?"

Edd spoke quietly into Kevin's chest, "A week from Tuesday."

Kevin rubbed Edd's back, still trying to sooth him and to show him affection, "Do you think it would be alright if I sat in on it with you? I want to ask the Doc some question." Edd nodded his head in confirmation but didn't say a word, "Ok I'll make sure to get the day off, I'm sure Alice won't mind." Kevin laid there watching over his beloved as he slowly fell back to sleep, all the while whispering gently words of love and affection to him as he thought of question he needed to ask Dr. Lee when he and Edd next saw her.


	50. My Baby Just Cares for Me

Chapter 50 – My Baby Just Cares for Me

 **A/N-Alright after this chapter I am not going to focus on Edd's depression that much, you might get a snippet of it here and there but nothing like last chapter. Now don't get it confused, he is by no means cured, it's just like with any chronic illness you have good days and you have bad days.**

The next day Edd woke up a little past ten, and though his anxiety was still high and his energy levels were low he did not want to sleep anymore. Rolling over he looks at Kevin who was still sound asleep, his mind was clearer now and he could see the love the red head had for him perfectly and this time he wanted to cry out of happiness that Kevin loved him. Nuzzling his face into the crook of Kevin's neck Edd takes in the red heads scent and exhales contently, kissing that perfect freckled covered neck he adored. Kevin gently squeezes Edd with the arms he still had wrapped around him, "Good morning," He kisses the top of Edd's forehead, "Are you feeling better?"

Edd felt a pang of guilt for putting his fiancé through that last night, his anxiety flaring up at the thought of how silly he must of sounded and looked. "I'm sorry about last night," He breathed out barely audible.

"It's alright D, it happens, nothing to be sorry about," Kevin was rubbing soothing circles into Edd's back, "Why don't we get up and I'll make you some blueberry pancakes." Kevin pulls back slightly and lifts Edd's chin up with his finger, he smiles at him and gives him a quick kiss before rolling out of the bed to begin their day. He goes over to Edd's side of the bed and lovingly coaxes him out of the bed with sweet kisses and a gently hand, "Your off today, aren't you?"

Edd nods in acknowledgement, "I go back tomorrow."

They head into the living room, "It's settled then," He ushers Edd over to the couch, "I'm calling off and we are going to laze about all day." He then heads toward the kitchen to start breakfast.

"Absolutely not mister, we need the money." Edd crossed his arms and looking in the direction Kevin had headed.

Turning to look over his shoulder he sees the determined look in his lover's eyes and realized it was a futile effort to argue with him, "Fine I'll go to work," he replies and goes through the door to the kitchen. As he was cooking and the sound of the food sizzling on the stove would cover his voice a little Kevin makes a phone call. For the few hours before Kevin had to leave for work the boys lay around and watched movies cuddling up on the couch together.

As time nears the appointed hour for Kevin to go to work he rushes around getting ready, having waited to the last minute to leave, a gentle knock was heard at the door. Opening the door slowly to greet whoever was on the other side, not really feeling up for company at the moment, he was met by the smiling faces of Angelica and Ed. Kevin hearing the door open rushes out of the bedroom before D could protest anything, "Hey guys, what brings you around?" He says leaning against the door frame casually, Edd give's his fiancé a knowing look but doesn't say anything.

"You know, just wanted to catch up with Double D," Ed's face was giving that tell-tale sign that Double D knew all too well that said Ed wasn't being totally honest, and yet again he didn't say anything to let on that he knew what was going on here.

Stepping to the side he allows them to enter, once the entrance way was clear Kevin gives him a quick kiss, "Got to go, I'll call you on my break," waving to the other two, "Y'all have fun," and he runs out the door and down the stairs.

Closing the door he turns to his two friends, Ed was being thoughtful and helping Angelica into the recliner, _"_ _God they look good together"_ he thought to himself. Sitting on the couch, Ed joined him a second later, he turns on the TV, "So what do you all want to watch?" Edd looked at them in a way to let them know he wasn't going to be a bundle of joy today, "Sorry no internet yet so no Netflix."

"It's whatever D," Angelica smiled at him, "Anything you want to watch is fine."

Thinking for a second he stands and goes over to the shelves with all their movies on it, "I'm sorry if Kevin put you up to babysitting me."

"Naw man, I wanted to cat…" Ed was cut off by Angelica.

"He loves you D," She knew there was no point in lying to her friend, it was kind of obvious what was going on after all, "He just didn't want you to be alone today."

Deep down he had to admit this was better than being alone and wrapped up in his thoughts, "Thank you both, I appreciate it." Pulling out the classic 1945 movie And Then There Were None from the shelf, he inserts it into the player and they sit back and enjoyed the classic adaptation of the Agatha Christie book. Edd's two friends having never seen the movie were constantly trying to figure out who Mr. U.N. Owen was as one by one the ten guests died in the order of the nursery rhyme.

True to his word Kevin called on his break nearly three hours after leaving the house, "Hey babe, you having fun?"

"Yes I am, thank you for this." Edd said the last part quietly.

"For what?"

"You know what for," Edd thought it was cute that he was playing dumb still.

"Haven't got a clue on what you're talking about."

"I see you Mr. Barr," Edd laughs a little, "I love you."

The laugh let Kevin know that his choice was the right one to make at the time, "I love you to babe," Kevin see Alice looking at him, he knows he shouldn't use the company phone for personal use, "I got to go, I'll see you when I get home." Edd hangs up the phone and returns to his friends, the next two hours went by normally going with a lighter movie this time around deciding on the original Ghostbusters , both Ed and Double D giving a few remarks here and there on several scenes. Most notable to Angelica was when they both simultaneously mocked the "Don't cross the streams" line, or yelled out "Ghost Job" at Ray's paranormal wet dream, she knew it was a good thing for Double D to remember to have fun and enjoy his friends.

Feeling a slight discomfort in her lower back and feeling as though the baby was sitting on her bladder she gets up, "Where you going baby?" Ed asks wondering if she needed help.

"Bathroom," She replied and started to head that direction. Figuring there was little he could do for her, Ed turns his attention back to the movie. So when she called out to him a few minutes later and they were making fun of a scene at the same time, they were unable to hear her until she raised her voice as pain shot through her body, "Ed!"

"What is it Angie, is something wrong?" Ed rushed to the door followed by Double D.

As the door opened they saw her face contorted in pain as she was held onto her belly, "Something's wrong." As she spoke water started to flow down her leg and onto the tile floor of the bathroom, "I think my water just broke."

"Ambulance or car?" Double D said calmly, but his expression was showing that he was panicking.

"Car." Ed replied, only being ten minutes from anywhere in Peach Creek he knew they could make it. With that reply Double D started running around like a mad man gathering anything he thought they would need as Ed slowly walked her down the stairs and toward the car. Double D meeting them there, Angelica handed him the keys to her car and Ed helps her in the back seat joining her there. Double D drove as fast as he could to the hospital, hoping he wouldn't get pulled over, luck being on there side with that endeavor. Parking in front of the emergency room entrance Edd rushes in to get a wheelchair for her and some help from the hospital staff. As Ed was helping with the check in process as much as he could Double D went to the phone and called all those of importance that he could think of, Angelica's, Ed's and his own parents for starters, then to Kevin and then Eddy.

The parents made their appearance rather quickly, Eddy showing up shortly afterwards accompanied by Justin, to which Edd thought they looked a little too friendly with each other to just be friends. _"_ _Note to self, interrogate Eddy about it later,"_ Edd thought to himself as he watched Justin comforting Eddy as they sat in the waiting room. Kevin showed up twenty minutes after Edd had called him, having to find Alice and explain the situation plus the slower traffic in the end of town he had to travel through had the red head on edge. "Where's big Ed?" Kevin asked as he came into the waiting room and sat down next to Edd.

"In the delivery room," Edd replied taking Kevin's hand to find comfort from his love.

"Isn't it a little too soon?" Kevin asked scrunching up his face with concern, rubbing the back of Edd's hand with his free hand.

Edd couldn't help but feel the concern well up in the pit of his stomach for his friends and their baby, "It's about ten weeks to soon, I'm sure they're going to be alright, the doctors are going to do all they can for that baby." They all waited in that room for what seemed like an eternity, minutes seemed like hours to all those present.

As the time passes by Kevin begins to notice Justin's attention to Eddy, "So what's up with those two?" And as if on cue Justin slips his hand into Eddy's, intertwining their fingers together caressing Eddy's thumb with his own.

"I think it's pretty obvious, don't you think." Edd replied as he laid his head on Kevin's shoulder. A moment later the waiting room door opens and all jump at the sudden noise, Big Ed walks into the room running his hand through his hair. He didn't say a word but looked as though he was locked in deep thought, "Ed."

Shaken out of his thoughts by Double D calling to him he looks up at those who were eagerly awaiting the news he obviously had to give. With a shaky voice he speaks, "He's fine, there both fine," looking up at Double D as his own mother came and put her arm around him, "He's beautiful D, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Taking a seat and his mother sitting beside him holding his hand and rubbing his back, tears started to form in Ed's eyes, "He's on life support now, they say until he's able to breathe on his own." His voice breaks at the end, Double D comes over to sit and comfort his friend, "He's so small D, and I don't know if I can do anything for him."

Ed crumples into Double D's arms, the tears rolling down his face at this point, Double D just held him tight as he slowly calmed down. After a few minutes he had regained control of his emotions enough to let her parents know which room she was in, while only a few people could visit Angelica at a time the boys decided to go up two floors to the NICU to visit little Michael. Upon arriving they could see that there were only a few babies in the unit at the moment and that Michael was able to be viewed clearly from the glass. Inside his incubator he lay with wires to check his vitals and monitor his temperature attached to him, a breathing tube was tapped to his face to help him with his breathing and a little blue cap upon his head. "Isn't he the most wonderful thing you've ever seen," Ed said as his voice began to crack again. The three Ed's where in a side hug as they looked upon Michael Duane Samuels, and all the thoughts of how they were going to spoil that kid rotten from this day forward crept into each of their minds. Teaching him how to play football from Kevin, sharing a good book would be Edd's gift, the joy of jawbreakers from Eddy, and the love of a good horror movie from Papa.


	51. Love's Divine

Chapter 51 – Love's Divine

 **A/N- So this chapter is going to hit the rewind button just a little and explain a few things on Eddy's side of what happened the night he left the party, hope you enjoy.**

Eddy opened the car door and got into the back seat, Justin quickly following suit getting in from the drivers side. Ed helped Angelica into the passenger seat, then closed the door and headed around to get into the driver's seat. Eddy stared out the window as they drove out of the parking lot across the street from D's apartment, though he had cleaned the makeup off his face he was still a little worried that the eye liner or mascara might be noticeable and what his mother and father might say about it if they saw it. Eddy had been raised to be a good catholic boy, he was taught to go to church on all the religious holidays, to confess his sins and take communion on Sunday because god expected you to. He was also taught that god knew you from head to toe, inside and out, from before you were conceived to the day you would die and beyond. So in a way he always thought that god knew and monitored everyone of his thoughts and actions, so as a kid when he was "scamming" others he thought of it more as a business transaction. You were receiving goods and services in exchange for your money nothing sinful about that right, if there was then the whole world was doomed, he couldn't help it that they feel through though, he was just a kid after all.

As he grew up, and his body matured and started down the road of puberty, he noticed a lot of changes in himself and in the way he perceived others. Girls where beautiful, soft and sensual creatures, their lips so very kissable and sweet, not to mention the other areas of their bodies that he wanted to explore, the very thought even today would make his pants a little tighter. Boys most curiously had a similar effect on him, they are rugged and rough with their strong arms and big hands to hold him safe and warm, the thought of what was underneath their clothes both excited and terrified him at the same time. For he was also taught that to lay down with another man as you would lay down with a woman was a sin and a one way ticket to hell, and seeing how god knew his every thought and action, how would he explain this to the big man. So his first instinct was to deny that he felt this way at all, hopefully over time and with enough prayer and will power he could eventually change and be that good boy that he was suppose to be and would be allowed join his family in heaven. But things did not change, no matter how much he prayed, no matter how much he ignored the other boys in the locker room, his body would still subconsciously react to a cute boys or a perceived flirtation. This internal battle was waged for several years for Eddy and caused him to hurt his friend very seriously several times, for he was after all the number one object of his affection at the time and the source of his strife. But as he came to accept Edd for who he was he also came to accept himself, little by little bit by bit he came to terms with the fact that boys excited him just as much as girls did.

Which is why when he saw the drag queens upon the floats in the pride parade, he was able to except this part of himself quickly. It was very hard to explain, even to himself, it was that feeling you get when you step into a house for the first time, but it feel as though you had been there many times before and that it was home. And he accepted it, now letting everyone know this about himself was another matter, when he stepped through that door tonight all done up his heart was going a million miles a second, and when he saw Big Ed sitting there with Angelica he nearly fainted. But his gamble paid off, and he was welcomed with open arms and he nearly ruined his makeup when his eyes filled with tears of joy. Now he was in the back seat of Angelica's car, a knot in his stomach worried his parents were going to notice and how they would react to it, more afraid that they would blame D then anything else.

"You looked very beautiful tonight." Justin's words knocked him out of his thoughts and back into reality, turning he sees the jock leaning in close to whisper the words in his ear.

A blush creeps up on his cheeks, not only at the words spoken to him but the nearness of the individual who had spoken them, "Thank you."

Angelica having good hearing adds, "He's right Eddy, you looked stunning tonight." Not being able to see the two in the back, and having not turned around to look at them she was oblivious to the fact that it was a private conversation. She was contently holding the hand of the one she loved and had been away from for so long, admiring the way their hands looked together with their fingers intertwined and their thumbs caressing one another.

Justin backs away quickly, a little embarrassed that he had been over heard, Ed noticing the quick movement reassures him, "Don't mind her dude, she fancies herself the gay match maker." He pulls her hand up and kisses the back of it, he wouldn't have her any other way then the way she was, and right now his heart was overjoyed being next to her and holding her hand.

The car went silent, everyone inside it was exhausted from the nights events and the excitement of so many surprises having been revealed. Eddy was staring out the window once again watching the trees and houses go by as he sat sprawled in the seat like he always had done before, then Justin's knee touched his own but was quickly removed. He just brushed it off as an accidently collision, until it happened again a minute later and this time lingered there for a few moments before Justin adjusted the way he was sitting and the touch would disappear again. Unbeknownst to Eddy was that each time Justin would adjust the way he was sitting he was actually being very shy and discreetly moving closer to him. So that this time when their legs touched it was more comfortable for him and he could maintain the contact without looking like he was trying to intentionally touch him, its funny how human anxiety works sometimes. In Justin's eyes Eddy was very handsome and beautiful, and the fear of rejection was surging in the pit of his stomach, this touching of the knees was his way of testing the water sort of speak. If Eddy recoiled from his touch he would understand and respect that, but Eddy didn't he actually pushed back a little and when Justin looked over at the boy he saw Eddy looking over at him questioningly. He thought frantically for the words to say to express his feelings at the moment as he slide his hand toward the others, but before he could join their hands or say what he wanted the car stops and Ed calls out while looking in the rearview mirror, "We're here dude."

Eddy snaps out of his daze and looks toward the front of the vehicle, "Y-yeah, thanks for the ride," and gets out of the car. Closing the door he heads toward the front door of his house as the car starts to move forward to take Justin home, the thoughts running through his head were of speculations on what Justin was going to say or do. For each happy thought that would enter his mind and more rational denial would spring forth and shoot it down. Justin watched from the back seat of the car as Eddy made his way into his home, he now knew where the boy lived, but could he go there and woe the beautiful creature that was now firmly entrenched within his thoughts. The further the car drove away the more he felt as though he was losing his chance to find out, for if he let the moment slip by that they were about to share the harder it would be to get it back.

A block down the road his nerves were on fire as he felt as though he was being pulled away from his destiny, "Stop the car," he said a little too loudly.

Ed complied with his request and turned around to look the boy in the eyes, "Go get him," he said gently, and Angelica nearly squealed cupping her hands over her mouth to contain her excitement. Justin exits the car and begins to run back in the direction of Eddy's house, "It's about time." Angelica looked at him a little bit puzzled at the statement, Ed sighs and puts the car in drive, "I can't believe I noticed it before you did, that boy's been drooling over Eddy all night."

"I blame the hormone changes of pregnancy, it's got all my radars messed up." She said with a pout upon her face that she had been so clueless about this new development, in truth it was the fact that Ed had been there and that she only had eyes for him. Now alone she leans her head upon his shoulder and takes a deep breath savoring his scent.

Eddy turns on the light and closes the door to his bedroom, looking at his eyes in the mirror to abate his fears of any tell tale signs of makeup on his face. If anything was to be said in the morning he was sure he could come up with a little white lie that would buy him some time, and hopefully see him through till graduation and moving out of his parent's house. He was already so far in deficit when it came to his religious viewpoints that he was sure a little lie wouldn't tip the balance of the scales in either direction. Collapsing upon his bed he sighs and the thoughts of the handsome brunette and their little exchange played itself through his mind. Those deep brown eyes that seemed to be peering into his very heart, the dimples on his cheeks that formed when he smiled, and the small soul patch under his bottom lip, those very kissable lips. A very strong jaw line that Eddy was sure that if he was to caress he would feel stubble, strong shoulders arms and chest that Eddy longed to be wrapped in, held tightly and protectively. Eddy had some many things that he wanted to know about the boy he couldn't list them currently, his head was muddled with possibility and excitement, he was pretty sure the boy liked him after replaying the scenario in his head and he knew he like him just as much if not more.

Eddy was so engrossed with his thoughts that he did not hear the gentle tapping at his window, Justin could see him laying upon his bed and wondered if he had already fallen asleep, tapping a little louder he got his answer when Eddy shot up and looked in the direction of the window. Getting out of bed he heads toward the window and pulls back the curtain to see what had caused the noise, and to his shock he was met by the one he hoped it was. Justin looked very shy and sexy all rolled up into one, hands in his pockets and biting his bottom lip nervously, Eddy was yearning to know the taste of those lips. Quickly he fumbled with the lock to his window and opens it, "Justin, what are y…."

Justin lunges, cupping Eddy's cheeks with his hands, he locks their lips together and Eddy melts into that kiss, grabbing a hold of the jocks shirt as though it was the anchor keeping him grounded. The scent of cologne and Justin's own smell filling the teens sense, his taste was minty _"_ _tic-tac"_ , the moan that escaped Justin's lips as he gasped for breath as they changed positions was music to Eddy's ears, the feel of his hands upon him coupled with the rest of the experience sent a shiver down Eddy's spine straight to his groin.

Breaking the kiss Justin spoke, Eddy took in the tenor of his voice and the sparks in his mind were still flying about but his mind quickly processed what was said and he realized that Justin just asked him out, "Yes," was all he could muster at that moment. Climbing in through the window Justin stayed over that night and was a perfect gentleman, neither boy removed their clothes, they lay on top of the covers of Eddy's bed holding each other and getting to know each other before passing out well past three in the morning.

When they woke up the next day spooning with one another, it was to Eddy's mom telling them it was time for breakfast as she stood over the bed taking in the scene of the two boys, "Come on Eddy it's time to get up, come down and introduce your friend to your father and me." They spent a very awkward breakfast with Eddy's parents, Eddy's mother knew what was forming between the two boys but was not going to push for them to tell her and her husband. Eddy would tell her when he was ready and she would respect his privacy about it, she would keep her door open for him if he needed to talk and welcome it in hopes of giving him the motherly advice she knew he would need. After breakfast Justin called his parents to let them know where he was and spent the rest of the day with Eddy, each one learning more about the other in hopes that they could form a meaningful and lasting relationship with one another. And when they got the phone call later that evening about the premature birth of Angelica's baby Justin was there to support the people who were quickly becoming his friends and the one that he was very fond of.


	52. The Ultimatum

Chapter 52- The Ultimatum

 **A/N- just a reminder that the night Angelica had her baby is the day after Ed came home from juvie, and therefore her parents were unaware that he was back in town until they came up to the hospital for the delivery. Warning: Language**

Angelica was lying in her bed half awake after giving birth to her precious baby boy. Her heart was overjoyed that he was finally here, but her mind was filled with worries at all the possibilities that could go wrong due to the rough start to his life. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst had kept her awake, even though her body said it needed to sleep. She was dozing off and just about to fall asleep when a soft knock was heard at her door and she weakly called with a horse voice, "Come in."

The door opens and her mother's concerned face peaks in to make sure she had in fact heard her daughter bid them to enter. Seeing that she was awake she opens the door wide and enters followed closely by her husband, "How are you feeling sweetie?"

"Sleepy." Angelica replied and adjust herself on the bed so she was sitting up a little more, supported by the pillows at her back.

"I expect you are," She says in a soothing voice and brushes her daughter's bangs from her forehead, "You get some rest," She kisses her forehead, "We're going to go see the baby, and I'll send Ed down in a little bit."

Her father's countenance was less than happy on this joyous occasion and irritation could be heard in his voice as he spoke, "So when did Ed get back in town," He practically spat out the boys name in disgust.

Angelica knew that tone in his voice and the look on his face, she rolled her eyes and adjusted herself on the bed to get more comfortable and try and get a little bit of rest, the exhaustion evident in her voice as she responded, "Last night."

"That's alright dear, you two were probably just catching up and that's why it slipped your mind to tell us," Her mother was trying to defuse the situation, "It's good to know that we have an extra set of hands to help out with the baby now."

"Stop making excuses for her Bridget," looking his daughter over he spots the ring upon her left ring finger and knew what it meant instantly. Grabbing her hand roughly he asks in a voice that did not hide his anger at what his daughter was going to do, "What's this?"

Her mother pushes his hand away from Angelica and places herself between the two of them, "James you need to calm down."

Staring intently at his wife and pointing his finger in Angelica direction, "Fuck that, she's planning on marrying that loser."

"He's not a loser," She yelled over her mother's shoulder, instantly regretting the strain to her abdomen muscles, she then continues a little more meekly, "He just made a bad choice."

Turning his attention to her, "No daughter of mine is going to marrying scum like him." He takes a deep breath and a moment to think how best to make her do as he wanted. He had been hoping for just a little more time to convince her of the error of her ways and to introduce her to someone from his church he felt she deserved, a nice young man close to her age who had a bright future ahead of him, who wouldn't look down on her for making a mistake and would treat the baby as his own. But now she had to go and ruin that plan, his rage at her choice was not swayed by the tears forming in her eyes. "Now you listen to me young lady, if you go through with this you're on your own, you pack your shit and you get the hell out of our house."

"James please be reasonable," his wife protested to his harsh words, she knew he would regret this choice if he went through with it.

"Not another word Bridget." He holds up his forefinger to his wife to signify to her that it was in her best interests to keep out of this.

Angelica was an emotional wreck due to her child's current medical situation and now this argument with her father that happened just moments after giving birth, her blood was boiling and her temper could be heard in her voice as she responded, "That's fine, we don't need you."

To say that he had not been happy about his daughter getting knocked up by some hooligan was an understatement, but what was done was done and nothing could change that. Being a man of faith and a republican on top of that he didn't believe in abortion so it was not an option to be brought up for debate. But he would be damned if he was going to let his daughter screw her life up anymore then she already had, and what of the child, he knew it deserved better then to grow up in some drug den. He thought of himself as progressive person for allowing her to have the two fairies as friends, but he was going to draw the line here. "I think you do, you have no transportation for work,"

"I have a car."

"No darlin, I own that car, and without it you'll more than likely lose the job you do have." A wicked grin forms across his face as he knows he now has the upper hand, "No proper housing," He makes a mock look of shock, "What did you think you would live in his parents basement, wrong answer, the baby has to have his own room. And let's not even get started on the father, who by the way is a known criminal. So you see if you leave, I'm going to report you to CPS for being an unfit parent and petition for custody of our grandchild."

She had heard enough and grabs the pillow from behind her back and throws it at the man who she called father, the man who was now letting her down and using her son as leverage to get what he wants. "Get the fuck out of my room," She screams ignoring her tired muscles, "I will make it, we don't need you in our lives, we will be just fine without you, you'll see." Anything she could throw she did, aiming straight for his head, but mostly hitting his shoulder as he defended himself from her onslaught.

Seeing that there was no chance of reasoning with her and trying to make her see that he was right about Ed, he makes a hasty retreat through the door and her mother turns to her, "Don't worry dear, I'll talk to him." And her fuming mother follows after her husband, with her claws out ready to strike, sure she hadn't been thrilled that her daughter had gotten pregnant at seventeen, she thought she had raised her better than that. But she wasn't going to let her husband destroy this family either, and for what, his pride and his sense of what he thought his daughter deserved, by all rights he was no better than Ed when he was that age and she was going to remind him of that. Once the room was empty she curled up into a ball and cried, why did this man who she had respected as her father have to shatter her world in so many ways, sure he was strict and that he had a certain view point as to how the world should work, but never did she think he would do something like this.

The boys were leaning against the glass looking at the little bundle of joy whose life was being sustained and monitored by so many wires and tubes. With the usual background noise of a hospital all around them they hadn't noticed Angelica's father coming up behind them. Hands suddenly grab Ed and throw him against the opposite wall, Angelica's father was up in Ed's face a look of rage in his eyes, "You stay the fuck away from my daughter." Ed kept his clinched fists at his side, he did not want to do anything that might get him sent back to juvie, and he was pretty sure that decking this man would do just that. Double D was Keeping Kevin at bay as well, the fiery red head didn't think much of this man who had no trouble giving his view points about Angelica's pregnancy and his relationship with Edd. "You've already ruined her life, I won't let you take her last chance at happiness."

Edd scoffed at those words, "Do you even know what makes her happy?"

"I'm her father, I know what's best for her."

"James Anthony Johnson, you get your god damn hands off that boy." Now Mr. Johnson would have to admit that when he married his wife he loved her spitfire nature and willfulness, but right now not so much. "So help me James if you don't shut your mouth and go get in the car right now you will be sleeping on the porch tonight." He turns to look at her and opened his mouth, but didn't get the chance to speak, "I'm serious, I will leave you here and I will change those locks, so help me god I will."

Defeated because he knew his wife would do it, he releases Ed but gets the last word in, "Let her go, for someone who can support her." He walks toward his wife and as he passes her she smacks him upside the head with the magazine she had been reading.

She looks over at Edd, "You might want to go talk to her."

Rushing down the stairs, not wanting to share an elevator with that asshole at the moment, he arrives at her room out of breath. Opening the door he finds her balled up and crying, various objects on the floor including her pillow, picking it up he walks over to her with a sad look upon his face that her father had caused her pain. Putting the pillow behind her head, she scoots over to make room for him on the bed, and he crawls in with her holding her close to him. With a shaky voice and stuffed up nose she tells him what has transpired, "He knows about the engagement," her voice wavers as she sobs her next words, "He's going to kick me out if I stay with you."

"That's fine we will make it, we don't need him in our families life."

Bringing her face out of the comforting embrace next to his heart she looks him in the eyes, tears staining her face and the look of pain upon it nearly broke his heart, "He's going to take our baby if I leave."

"He can't do that." A look of rage crossed his face, now he wished he had punched him, he would have happily spent a few more months in juvie for that satisfaction, but he knew his place was here more than ever now.

"He'll call CPS on me if I go, then take custody of him." she crumpled back into his chest at the thought of losing her child fell upon her again.

Comforting her as best he could he held her tightly as he spoke, "Don't worry my angel, he can try but he will never get our kid."

"You sure?" She sniffles a little.

"Yeah, most definitely." In all honesty he was just as scared as she was at the prospect that her father might have a chance at taking their kid. He knew that this was all just a ploy to keep them apart, by making her choose them over him and if the first attempt failed taking the child would most certainly force her to go back in order to be with her kid, at least that's how Ed perceived her father's thoughts on the subject. Right now he needed to keep up the strong front for her, they would think of something they had to, his parents should know what to do, hopefully.

 **A/N- O and I'm just getting started, I have two more drama filled ideas that will be running at the same time as this one, the first ones wheals are already in motion and the second will hopefully begin in the next chapter, so enjoy.**


	53. Airing Dirty Laundry

Chapter 53 – Airing Dirty Laundry

 **A/N- Yes I know I skipped Puppy Love this time, but inspiration wasn't on that one ATM and I did have it for this one, so sorry for those that were looking forward to cute and fluffy. To air your dirty laundry means to talk about private issues amongst others that are not involved, in case someone didn't understand the title. And I used the bold lettering to show that she was emphasizing that one word as she talked. Warning: Transphobic statements.**

The stock room of Big Lots was little more than an over sized hallway, with just enough room to put pallets down on either side of the belt and still have room to walk. The belt consisted of two sets of rollers that stretched out like an accordion and snacked its way out the back double doors to the end of the truck. Yes this retailer did not have a proper dock to its store, to get heavy pallets of water or furniture off the truck they had to use a scissor lift that would raise up to the back of the truck and would allow them to pull the pallets onto it, then they would have to stop them on a dime before they fell off the lift, safety in carnet. Two men were in the truck throwing the freight onto the line while four people were in the makeshift stock room taking it off the line. While technically he was considered eighteen by the law, the companies insurance still look at him as a minor and thus was Kevin not allow to step foot on the truck, and that suited him just fine, he didn't want to be in that metal box in 95 degree weather, those guys always came off looking like they swam laps in their sweat. The pay was minimal wage, the hours were shit and the benefits were nearly none existent, so to say that he wasn't planning on busting his ass for this place was an understatement. But he did enjoy the people he worked with for the most part, some of them were a bit abrasive at times, but so was he, so the talks while unloading were normally back and forth banter and the usual things one could not talk about on the sales floor. The three who were unloading the line with Kevin was his manager and friend Alice, a girl in her mid twenties named Macy who has been with the company a few years, and the new girl Amy who was roughly the same age as Alice, in her mid thirties, and has only been with the company a few weeks, so Kevin wasn't sure how he felt about her yet. Kevin had been showing Alice pictures of Ed and Angelica's new baby boy and explaining the drama that happened with her father, "So what's their plan of attack?" She asked as her and Kevin team lifted a heavy boxed up gas grill off the line and onto a nearby pallet, why they didn't just send those heavy things wrapped on a pallet Kevin could never understand.

"While the baby is still in the hospital they are going to get a room ready for him at Ed's parent's house, they have a spare room they can turn into a nursery." Another gas grill was added to the pallet, "Ed is going to continue with his NA meetings, even after he turns eighteen, in hopes that this will help prove his sobriety." He throws a few lightweight boxes onto pallets that were separated by the items category, "Eddy and D's parents have agreed to watch the kid on their days off while his parents are in school, that's if Ed's parents are unavailable to look after him. And also we are all going to take turns give Angelica a ride to and from work until she gets her own car again."

"Ok, sounds like you all have a good solid plan A, now what about plan B?' Kevin looked at her confused, he thought they had all their bases covered, "Look pumpkin, in a perfect world everything goes according to plan, but unfortunately this isn't a perfect world. You have to look at the what ifs as well, like what if CPS arrives on a particularly bad day, everything's gone wrong that can, and the investigator is in a bad mood from the start, then what?"

"Ed's parents have a right to that child just as much as her father does, so they could petition to adopt as well." Kevin said with a hopeful look in his eye.

"That's a good start, but if the place of residence that was deemed unfit was in Ed's parent's house your chances are slim to none they could get him." She wasn't trying to be mean by blowing hole in their plan, she was just trying to prepare them for reality, "What I mean is, it's good to get the help of his parents right now, but they need to look for their own place and quickly so they have the safety net of his parents being able to adopt the baby if worse comes to worse." And seeing the look in his eyes she adds, "And no they can't stay at your place, it's barely big enough for you and Edd. I'm not trying to say they will lose the baby, I am just telling you they need to be prepared in case the asshole gets his way." Kevin takes note of all that she had told him and planned to let his friends know what she had suggested. A short time later the two who were on the truck came into the back room and let her know that it was all on the line, the three hour process of unloading the truck had finally come to an end and they all finished removing the rest of the product off the line and then went on their fifteen minute break. Though he had been in the back room for the entire process, the summer heat had not been kept at bay by the buildings "air conditioning", the company apparently did not feel the need to install vents in the back room. So he was still feeling like a stinking sweating mess as he went up to the register to buy himself a soda to help cool down, oh and an ice cream looked good to, picking out a drumstick he waits in line and pays, then heads outside just to get a few minutes away from the building.

Heading towards the employees smoke area, which was around the corner of the building so customers wouldn't have to see the employees engaged in the habit, he pauses suddenly when he hears Amy talking, " **His** names Edd." Were they talking about his Edd, why would they know his personal business in the first place? Not that he was hiding his sexuality from anyone anymore, he just didn't broadcast it, feeling like it was something that should be considered no big deal but if someone asked he would tell them honestly. Stopping at the corner of the building he listened in to what the hens were clucking about, in case they were indeed throwing shade his way. "I went to school with **him** ," they weren't talking about his Edd, she was far too old for it to have anything to do with him. "Eddward Rockwell was **his** name back then, dated a Kevin Anderson, boy did that cause a scandal back then. And apparently since their kind can now get married is probably why **his** name is Anderson as well."

"Wait," Macy sounded a little shocked, "You're telling me that our Alice, Alice Anderson, is actually a he?"

"Yep, since the day he was born," She takes a drag off her cigarette and exhales, "Must have got the sex change so they could fit in with normal couples, since they had all that trouble back in high school." She took another drag off her cigarette then flicks it away and lights another, "The swim team nearly drown him after practice when they found out. Socked him a good one knocking his ass out and that's how he fell in the pool, if Kevin hadn't come to pick him up our little _Mrs. Anderson_ wouldn't be here right now."

"Jesus Christ," Macy sounded shocked, Kevin was relieved for a moment that at least one of them was showing compassion, "I can't believe I have been in the same bathroom with that **thing**." And Kevin's heart plummeted into his stomach.

"Don't you worry dear, I've already taken care of it," Seeing the curious look on Macy's face she elaborates, "I filed a complaint with corporate about it, and with a little bit of luck the perv won't be here much longer." Kevin couldn't see her face but he could hear the disgust in her voice when she spoke next, "Men shouldn't be allowed to use our bathroom regardless of how they dress, just imagine some rapist dressing like a woman just so he can attack one of us when we are vulnerable." She lets out a shudder at the thought, and Kevin had heard enough and gets up to leave.

As he was standing he hears Macy's reply, "I'll file a complaint to, we have to protect our safety, and there is always strength in numbers,"

Walking away and throwing his uneaten ice cream away, he reenters the building looking for Alice finding her in the back room, she hadn't even taken a break yet for she was helping a customer who had just purchased an item they just got off the truck. "Back from break yet?" She asked once she noticed him behind her.

"Yeah, but we need to talk." She looks up and sees the seriousness of his expression.

"Ok, but first help me load this grill up for the customer waiting at the register then we can talk." Accomplishing their task he asks for a little privacy for their conversation, so she leads them back to the office where she closes the door and takes a seat in one of the chairs motioning for him to sit in the one across from her. "What seems to be the problem Kevin?" Her demeanor getting serious and professional all of a sudden.

"I overheard Amy and Macy talking on break, and they seem to have an issue with who you are, so I thought you would like to…." She hold up a hand to stop him right there.

"I appreciate your concern Kevin, but the proverbial wheals are already in motion, and until now I wasn't even aware who might have filed the complaint against me." She spoke very matter-of-factly and calmly about the whole situation.

"Are you alright," His face was in distress over it all, knowing that she must have already been interviewed by corporate HR if she was aware of the situation, "Because you're my friend Alice, not just my boss."

"Thank you Kevin, but I really can't talk to you about it at the moment, to do so put's me at risk. But you must also promise me that you will take no action against them, for it will be construed as retaliation and you will lose your job." Her attitude was very serious on this subject, she was after all just looking out for the boy, and it was unfortunate that he had to get tangled up in her problems.

"So it's alright for her to go around blabbing her mouth off about your personal business in an attempt to try and get people to rally against you based on her personal bigotry, but for you to talk to a friend about it will get you fired." He was all but seething, the scales were so off balance if this was true.

"No, she is not supposed to be talking about an ongoing investigation with anyone, I will have the store manager have a talk with her once he gets in, whether anything come of it is another question. He might have you fill out a statement, if that's alright with you, if not we can keep it confidential." Kevin gives his permission to file the report, she thought for a moment, she still wanted to protect the boy from any repercussions that might come from causing ripples in the water, "I would suggest anonymous personally, we will type up your statement and I will present it to him tonight." She rolls over to the computer and brings up the appropriate form and starts to fill out all the relative information, he tells her all that he had heard to the best of his ability, when they were done she prints the form, folds it and places it in her filling cabinet where she can find it later.

"Can you please tell me you're going to be alright, I promise I won't say a word?" His eyes begged her to let him know something.

She contemplated this for a moment, and reasoned out that she could trust him he has never treated her any differently and he was a good friend, "Alright but I am only telling you what is currently happening, no grand details on what they asked me." She waits for him to agree and then begins, "As you know our state has a law that says you must use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender you were assigned at birth," She let out a sigh of frustration at this blatant Jim Crow Law, "They are currently looking into what they have to do about this situation, whether they reprimand me for breaking the law which could mean my termination. Or if they should just slap me on the wrist and find some loophole so I don't have to go to the men's restroom, which as we all know could be very dangerous for me, if the wrong sort of person comes in while I'm still in there and who knows what might happen." She was very shaken up by the thought of what that statement meant as memories flooded her mind of previous acts of violence that she has had to suffer at the hands of others for being perceived as different.

"I'm here for you Alice, it might not be much comfort but you can always come to me or Edd if you need us." He wanted to clasp her hand in a show of support but feared the inappropriateness of it while at work.

"Thank you pumpkin," She gave him a weak smile, "I wish the rest of the world would just get over this BS already and focus on what really matters, that we are all human and deserve to be treated as such." She took a moment to collect herself then cleared her throat, "You should probably get back to work, before everyone starts wondering where you and I are, and other nasty rumors start fly around this place."

"Ok," He pauses at the door, "You and Kevin should come to dinner tonight, it's not much but we are having pork chops, mashed potatoes and I think green beans or corn. We can brain storm on how best to handle this situation."

"Thanks, I'll let you know." Her smile was a little more stronger now, "Oh and Kevin, just a thought about what we were talking about earlier, suggest to the new parents that they should probably take some sort of parenting class, it couldn't hurt you know." She was trying to put him at ease that everything was going to be alright, and make it seem like this was really not worth worrying about.

"I'll suggest it," He opens the door and steps out, "Thanks Alice," then closes it behind him. The weight of the world was now visibly upon her shoulders, it had been hard enough keeping up appearances at work after the very lengthy and very personal conversation she had with HR, now she had two names to go along with the drama that had fallen in her lap. Her first urge was to smack the shit out of the two bitches for being so narrow minded, but what would that really accomplish in the first place other then getting her fired. Besides her days of physically lashing out because she was angry have long gone by, with the help of her husband she had overcome her childhood anger issues and was a better person for it. Now all she could do was wait for a corporate entity to judge her and decide her fate.


	54. Suddenly Last Summer

Chapter 54 – Suddenly Last Summer

 **A/N- It's a reference to the movie not the song. Sorry this chapter is just going to jump in multiple directions giving you perspective on what is going on in multiple fronts, sorry if it's confusing.**

Over the course of their last month of summer vacation the group of friends banded together through their troubles. Angelica was released from the hospital the next day after giving birth, but her and Ed would both visit everyday to watch over their son as he hung on to life. The boy however was not scheduled to be released from the hospital for at least another two months, the doctors were keeping a close eye on him, monitoring his development to ensure that he had the best chance he could have at a normal life. Edd, Kevin and Eddy helped the new parents out by getting the nursery ready for little Michael's arrival, cleaning up and decorating the spare room in Ed's parents house. They painted the walls of the room a light blue at the top half with white fluffy clouds and airplanes here and there, then a darker blue at the bottom with sail boats riding the small waves and dolphins jumping out of the water and finally a sandy brown at the very bottom with their best impressions of starfish and seashells. Putting the crib together was a special type of frustration for Kevin, thinking he could do it all by himself with only minimally looking at the instructions for guidance, only finally admitting defeat before he had a melt down and went all Yosemite Sam on the pile of wooden pieces. Edd comes to his rescue and calmly picks up the instructions and looks them over to see that he did everything in order before gently pointing out what went wrong then helping him to finish the project, for his and the cribs sake.

Alice took to teaching Eddy how to do his makeup properly for drag, the art of female impersonation is a grand thing, being all about the illusion you create after all. With brushes powder puffs and an assortment of different shades of makeup she taught him how to highlight and shadow his check bones, nose and jaw line to make his features appear more feminine, then she showed him how to decorate his eyes for a casual night on the town or for when he was going up on stage. As layer after layer of makeup was applied, shadowing and highlighting his features over and over again, the rugged boy he had always seen in the mirror slowly disappeared before his eyes and a beautiful woman reemerged as a phoenix rising from the ashes. As the weeks went by he slowly became better at doing this for himself, with only minimal instruction or hints on how to refine his look coming from Alice, though the both of them would still admit that he was still a novice, but with time and practice comes perfection after all, and he had all the time in the world to master his craft.

Eddy was really enjoying this new part of himself and the relationship he had with Justin, the both of them would go on trips to Summerville on the days they had off together, to go shopping at a few stores that Alice had suggested they visit. Eddy was still feeling a little self-conscious about window shopping for outfits, wigs and accessories, knowing full well what a lot of the world truly thought about the community as a whole, having done some of that judgment himself in the past. He was however comforted and his mind set at ease by Justin's support of him, he would excitedly make suggestions, or initiated jokes or gently teasing to lighten the mood. It also helped his comfort level that the shops Alice had suggested were all very friendly and supportive of the community, having a large customer base of local drag queens that frequented them, this also made the shop keepers very knowledgeable and helpful to what Eddy would need.

The two of them would finish their excursion with a light dinner at a locally owned bistro close to the shops, or catch a movie paying at one of the many theaters in the city, discovering quickly that they both shared the same taste made planning activities together easier for the both of them. On the way home they would hold hands and sing the lyrics to their favorite songs, most of them being love songs and duets, they had assumed these songs would have remained their dirty little secrets hidden away from others and sung privately, that is of course until they had met the other. As the energy waned and the night grew long, Eddy would pass out leaning against Justin's shoulder as they finished their day together watching TV at Justin's house. Justin would quickly follow behind him, his eyes becoming to heavy to keep open anymore and with no desire to end their cuddle session. They both would wake up the next morning all covered up on the couch and the TV turned off, Justin's mother having checked on them in the middle of the night, she would make sure they were both comfortable not wanting to wake either of them, knowing her son was a good boy and that Eddy was good for him.

After a few weeks of investigation and deliberation Big Lots decided the best course of action would be to revise a few of their policies, to encompass gender identity within their protections against discrimination. But as far as the law of the land went in regards to bathroom usage they decided to designate the backroom restrooms as unisex, and encouraged all employees to use them before using the public restrooms, for their own safety in case of public backlash to the policy change. With the information that Kevin had provided Amy was terminated for breaking policy and discussing a closed investigation with another associate and the complaint that Macy had filled against Alice was disregarded, all employees were then quickly informed of the new policy changes that took effect. It didn't take long for Macy to be terminated for what the company viewed as retaliatory and discriminatory action, her actions and words were fueled by her disdain for who Alice is coupled with the fact that she viewed her as the reason why Amy got fired. Kevin was happy that things righted themselves quickly for his friend at work, while Alice was relieved that it was over she couldn't help but feel like people were looking at her differently now, she was by no means ashamed of who she was, she just knew how judgmental people could be in regards to those they viewed as different. She could only hope that her coworkers would figure it out, that she was the same person she had always been, the only thing that has changed is their perception of her.

When Edd's appointment to go to Dr. Lee came up the couple sat in the waiting room with Edd's mother as she filled out the paperwork to allow Kevin to take part in group sessions with her son. In the doctor's office the session went along as normal, Dr. Lee was learning a few things about the red head and the dynamic of his relationship with Edd. She was happy to see that Edd had a good support structure to help him cope with some of the issues he faced from time to time, and when the issue of his recent episode came up Kevin asked a multitude of questions on the subject. Being ignorant of the topic of depression he was doing all he could to learn more on the subject, so he could better support his fiancé before, during and after an episode. He questioned her on how he could better help prevent an episode, what more he could do during one to help alleviate his lover's sadness, and what things he could do afterwards to help him feel like his old self again. The best advice she could give was for him to be there for him and to show Edd that he is loved, listen to him when he is hurting and be the shoulder he can cry on, to try and not get to frustrated about the situation at hand, for she knew that it would be hard to see him like that but she assured him that Edd would pull through it, that from the darkness will come the light. The session did remind Kevin of one thing that he needed to do, he had all but forgotten about it with all the chaos that had been going on with the childbirth and the drama at work. Still he was rather nervous about getting tested for HIV and decided to ask for a little support from his friends, Ed Eddy and Justin decided to make it a group thing so that they could all be assured of their clean bills of health and to set their minds at ease.

The doctor at the clinic suggested that if they were not in a monogamous relationship but still sexually active that they should get tested once every three to six months so they could be aware of their statues better. He also suggested that even if they are currently in a monogamous relationship, but just getting tested for the first time, that they should get tested again within six months just to be on the safe side, for HIV could take that long to become detectable. Blood drawn, vials labeled and packed up to be sent to the labs for testing the four of them were informed when to come back to get the results of their tests. Each one of them were sure they were fine, nothing to worry about, I've been practicing safe sex most of the time and everyone I have been with looked clean, but in the back of their minds they couldn't help but wonder what if.


	55. 195 Days to Go

Chapter 55 – 12th Grade- 195 Days to Go

The alarm went off at six and Edd blinks a few times before he reaches over and shuts it off stopping the constant blaring noise. Looking to his right he sees that Kevin had not stirred from his sleep, but rather nuzzled his face into Edd's neck when the boy's weight had shifted. He eased himself out of Kevin's embrace and climbs out of bed, the red head reached for him and softly whined in his sleep when he only found an empty bed. Edd positions a pillow next to his fiancé, which Kevin quickly cuddle with, and then he quietly makes his way into the kitchen to start the coffee maker and jump in the shower. Fifteen minutes later he is out of the shower and drying himself off, with a towel wrapped around his waist he exits the bathroom, "Good morning," Kevin greets him softly as he pours the second cup of the hot brown liquid.

Edd was startled just a little bit, he was not expecting Kevin to be awake just yet, he regains his composure and returns the greeting. Looking to his right and into the kitchen he sees the man that he loved walking toward him with two mugs off coffee, wearing only his blue boxer briefs and with the usual male morning condition in full swing. He places the mugs down upon coasters on the nearby coffee table and comes in for a good morning kiss, and to playfully pull Edd's towel off, letting it drop to the floor between them. "Kevin," he grabs a hold of Edd's manhood and rejoins their lips, "we'll be late," another kiss and Edd wraps his arms around Kevin's neck, "for the first day of school."

Kevin breaks the last kiss and looks into Edd's eyes longingly, releasing Edd's hardening cock he reaches around and cups both his ass cheeks with his hands, binging their hips together rubbing their manhood's against each other. "We have time," he begins to kiss Edd's neck, fanning the flames of desire within his love. Kissing his way down Edd's torso he gets on his knees and nuzzled his nose in Edd's pubes, taking in his clean scent as he lapped at the tender flesh between his legs and balls. Licking his way up the shaft to the head, he kisses it, taking in the sweet nectar that had pooled at the tip then slides down taking it all the way to the back of his throat.

Edd moans out his name and bucks into his mouth while Kevin kneaded his own hard meat through his underwear. Pulling down the front of the constricting fabric he tucks it under his balls, coming off of Edd he let's a good amount of saliva drop into the palm of his hand. Applying it to the head of his own cock he takes hold of it and strokes his meat furiously as he once again works Edd's with his mouth. Relishing the sweet moans he was bringing forth from his love, each sound that came from those beautiful lips urging him on, bring him closer to the edge. Edd's breathing was becoming erratic and his thrusts uneven, his cock swelled even more and began to pulse in Kevin's mouth as he dropped his load down his throat. Kevin quickly followed, depositing his seed upon the towel at Edd's feet with a satisfied moan as he continued to suckle on Edd's cock making the boy twitch from how sensitive he had become. With hazy half lidded eyes he comes off Edd and looks up at him while rubbing his cheek against the still rock hard cock, "See, a lot better than coffee."

Edd replies in a panting breath, "You are incorrigible," and leans down to kiss his love deeply, "Now go get ready, I've got to get dressed." Another quick kiss and he picks up his coffee mug and heads into the bedroom as Kevin quickly took a shower and then joined him, getting dressed for the day. Hearing the horn from Eddy's car beep twice they rush down the stairs and load up in the back seat, Justin was sitting shotgun already. Kevin leans his head back and puts his arm around Edd's shoulder to pull him in for a little more cuddle time before their day began, grabbing a quick bite to eat through the McDonalds drive-thru they then head to school, sitting in the car to eat their breakfast, Kevin was feeding Edd a few bites from his meal and then would playfully snag a bite from Edd's.

Justin sees the playful way Kevin and Edd interact with one another and looks over at Eddy as he chews his egg McMuffin and knew that one day they would get to that level themselves. Leaning over he puts his head on Eddy's shoulder and opens his mouth begging for a bite, Eddy looks down at him with a unsympathetic side eye and in his best Cartman impersonation, "No kitty this is my hash brown." Justin gives him his best puppy dog eyes and pouty lips, Eddy sighs dramatically and breaks off a piece, "Fine here, "Justin opens his mouth again and Eddy shoves the piece of hash brown in. Justin catches Eddy's retreating finger with his lips and gives it a gentle suck and Justin realizes that they already have their own chemistry between them and that this was a good thing. With breakfast finished and all the trash put in the bag, per Edd's insistence, they get out of the car and head toward the entrance of the school.

"Kevin, are you free after school today?" Justin inquires of the red head.

"I should be, I don't have to go to work until seven tonight and we don't have anything planned, do we babe?" Edd just shacks his head to confirm that they didn't, "Why?"

"Today's the day we can get our test results back," Justin holds the door open for Eddy and his friends to enter, "We're going to go pick up the big guy after school and wanted to know if you just wanted to head up with us?" With Ed having missed most of the previous year he opted to get his GED and begin searching for work, having passed the test a week before school began. Angelica was taking time off from school until her son came home from the hospital, not really feeling that she would be able to concentrate on much else until then.

"Ok cool," Kevin's insides were in a knot now, there had been that subtle nagging feeling in the back of his mind since he had his blood drawn, but now his nerves were on edge, today was the day to discover his status. Looking to Edd he gives his hand a gentle squeeze, "You coming with me babe?"

"Of course I'm coming," Edd didn't even think the question needed to be asked, he would be there for Kevin through anything. The day was the typical first day of school, getting oriented with their class schedule, Kevin would claim the seat next to Edd in each class they shared, receiving their text books, and the introduction to each course they were taking with light homework of reading chapter one . A few teachers took the initiative and assigned actual work, but not many and even then it wasn't a very difficult assignment. Lunch was an interesting display today, everyone in school had pretty much accepted Kevin and Edd's relationship as a normal scene in their day to day lives, but when Justin sat beside Eddy they were all looking on in curiosity. Why was the captain of the football team sitting with the dorks and gay guys, was there going to be some grand coming out story, or was he just showing his support for his former teammate? The questions mounted and the rumor mill went into full swing, Kevin noticing the looks and whispers brought up the subject, "Why do I get the feeling that I am under a microscope?"

"Well, I would suppose that they are wondering why Justin is sitting here," Edd stated.

"Thank you captain obvious," Eddy interjected, "Butch here has yet to come out to the school and seeing how we weren't even friends last year it would make sense that they are curious about it."

"Shhh, not so loud," Justin said nervously, 'Someone might hear you."

"What are you ashamed of us?" Eddy said these words without even thinking it through, he personally knew what the fear of coming out was like, having yet to come out to his parents.

"No, I'm just a little scared is all," Eddy's hand which was on the table in a loose fist opened and moved ever so slightly toward Justin's, but the jock pulled away from him.

"Fine, be like that," Eddy whispered and pulled back his hand.

"Now Eddy," Edd said softly, Eddy just gave him a look that told him that he better not fucking dare say a word, but Edd dared. Motioning with his forefinger he beckons Eddy to lean across the table so he was a little closer to him, "When, where and how he comes out is his choice, it doesn't mean he is ashamed of who he is or with, it's actually about his comfort level and whether or not he feels safe in doing so." Eddy didn't really look like he got the gist so Edd included, "Look what the football team did to Kevin, do you think Justin wants that? Sure things have gotten better around here, but that doesn't mean that certain thought processes have totally gone away, like football being a "mans" game. And in all honesty they might accept me and Kevin, but I am sure certain people still think of us in the stereotypical ways."

"Alright I get it," Eddy leaned back in his seat, still not liking the fact that he couldn't hold Justin's hand or be affectionate with him in school, like everyone else could do with their significant other.

The rest of their lunch was still a little awkward, but all in all they chatted like normal after Eddy got done pouting, when they finished Justin took a left to head to his next class and the other three took a right. Kevin noticed that Eddy was still pouting a little about Justin's choice to stay in the closet, "Look dude, he cares about you and that's all that matters really, not everyone else's acceptance of your relationship."

"I know," Eddy whined, "I'm just tired of hiding, I know you all have been there and understand, all I want to do right now is kick the door down and scream this is who I am."

"I understand Eddy," Edd replied and gave his friend a side hug, "But right now he is taking baby steps, he is at least sitting with you and not avoiding you in school, so you're on the right track. Just let him choose when he tells the rest of the world ok."

"And Eddy," Kevin chimed in, "Even if he decides that it is no one else's business but his and those closest to him, that's alright to, just count yourself lucky that you are among the group that he let in."

Their words had the desired effect upon Eddy, and his mood lightened and he allowed Justin to take his time and even told him he was sorry for the way he acted. The rest of the day ticked by slowly for Kevin, the knot in his stomach was only growing tighter as the time got closer to the end of the day. When the last bell rang, he felt like he was going to throw up, his succor was Edd's reassuring hand in his as they walked out the doors and toward Eddy's car. As they pulled up to Ed's house and Kevin went in to get their friend and say hello to Angelica, Eddy reminded Edd that it was his turn to drive the carpool tomorrow, to which Edd simply replied, "Roger Dodger," and continued to read his YAOI manga.

Getting to a particularly juicy part when Ed opens the door and hopes in the backseat, glancing over and seeing more then he actually bargained for he jokingly cries out, "Double D please man, put that away you'll go blind."

Being considerate of his friend he closes the book and tucks it back in his bag as Kevin gets in on the other side, "There is no scientific evidence that suggests you will lose your sight from masturbation or looking at too much porn."

"There you go Eddy," Ed pats him on the shoulder, "You have Double D's seal of approval for all your weekend plans." Eddy replied by casually flipping him off without looking in his direction, then drove off toward the clinic. Ten minutes later they pull into Planned Parenthood's parking lot and piled out of the car and into the reception area of the medical provider to register for their visit. Sitting in the uncomfortable chairs the five friends wait patiently to be called back, Kevin's leg was bouncing nervously while Edd held his hand tightly to try his best to comfort him.

Finally door opens and they called the first of the group back and it was Kevin's number that was called, nervously he walks up to the door with Edd close behind him, "Can he come with me, he's my fiancé?" The nurse nodded and allowed them both in showing them to the room the counselor was in and hands her the information packet with Kevin's test results. The nurse leaves closing the door behind her and the counselor introduces herself as Devynn and opens the packet, explaining that she was reading the test results for a specific case number and asking for proof that he was the individual that it belonged to. Kevin pulls out the piece of paper that had his identification slash case number on it and presented it to the woman, matching the numbers she looks over the paperwork with a few hums here and there to herself, "This is your first test correct?" Kevin confirms this with her, "Alright young man well the test has come back negative," and Kevin breathes out a sigh of relief and a weight was lifted from his chest, "We do suggest that you come back in two to three months and get retested and continue to do so as long as you're sexually active."

"We're getting married and are in a committed relationship," Kevin pointed out.

"That's all well and good and the choice is yours, but I would still suggest getting a series of test just to make sure of your status."

"We've been together exclusively for almost a year," Edd states, "Isn't that enough time to know?"

"One would think, but people cheat on each other all the time, I had a friend who had been in a relationship he thought was exclusive as well, turns out his lover was not only cheating on him but was not using protection. He contracted the disease and passed it right along to the person he swore his love to everyday." She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "It's up to you all what you do with your lives, I can only advise you, but I would suggest regular testing." She looks between the two of them and continues, "Personally I think you two should talk it over, be honest with one another and make your choices carefully. Loving and trusting one another is a beautiful thing, until it's not, and once the cards are laid upon the table it's too late, you don't get a second chance, not with this."

"Thank you Devynn, we'll take it under advisement,' Edd says as they both stand, he extends his hand to her, she takes it and gives it a small shack and does the same for Kevin.

"Alright you boy's take care now, and be safe and think about what I said." Both of them walked to the door at the end of the hallway and walked back into the reception area, sitting back down they waited on their friends. Ed was already back getting his results and Eddy was called next, Ed came out with a triumphant thumbs up and Justin was called shortly afterwards. They sat and talked while waiting, Edd reading his manga again but keeping it out of view of Big Ed.

Eddy comes out and sits next to Ed letting them know he was clean as well, continuing to pass the time they waited, and waited. Checking his watch Edd noticed that Justin had been in there for a good twenty minutes now and was beginning to worry, Eddy's expression told of his worry as well, for he was the last of their group and they needed their luck to hold off for just a little bit longer. They all looked up when the door opened, all their breathes caught as Justin walks out of the office area, and when he looked up from the floor they all knew the answer, for his eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks tear stained. Eddy couldn't move, his heart was in pain at the moment as the bottom just fell out of his world and a myriad of thoughts entered his head all at the same time. Should he stay with Justin or dump him for his own health and safety, what are the risks if he did, what would his parents say if they found out he was dating someone who was infected, what would others think? Each thought hurting him a little more, as the reality of the situation sets in a little deeper in his mind.

Kevin stands and goes over to hug Justin and comfort him, Edd and Big Ed quickly joining him, Eddy on the other hand rushes out of the building and looks up at the clouds high above, wondering what God out there would give him everything he wanted just to quickly take it all away from him and he screamed, "WHY, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?" falling to his knees he lets the first of many tears fall upon his cheeks.


	56. Virus

Chapter 56 – 12th Grade – Virus

 **A/N- The title is actually a song by Bjork, and contains the true meaning behind the title. I would like to dedicate this chapter to all those that I have known and also those I do not know who have battled this disease, many of whom have** **lost the battle, while many still are fighting it, keep your head up darlings.** **Warnings: violence, language and hateful people.**

The drive home from Planned Parenthood was a quiet one, Ed Kevin and Double D sat in the backseat unsure on how to comfort the two upfront, most of all Justin. He was staring blankly out of the passenger side window at the passing scenery, his life future and world seemed to be coming down around him and it was all he could do at the moment not to curl up into a ball and give up. Eddy's heart was breaking for the man who had filled it with love, how was he suppose to make this situation better for him, what could he do to help ease the pain of it all. In the short amount of time since the news had been given to them Eddy had already made a choice, he was going to stick by Justin's side and do all he could to support him, now he just had to chose whether to tell his parents about all this or not. Would they support his choice or would they have a meltdown and ban him from seeing Justin, there was only one way to find out and his stomach was in knots just thinking about it. Coming to a stoplight Eddy reaches over to take Justin's hand, hoping the small show of love and support would comfort the man, if even just a little bit, but Justin pulls his hand off his knee and away from Eddy keeping it wrapped around his waist. He never looked in Eddy's direction but he could see the tears that were just barely being held back and also hear the rhythmic breathing that Justin was doing to try and stay calm. A horn sounds behind them and pulls Eddy out of his thoughts, looking forward he sees that the light had turned green and he presses the gas to continue down the road, all the while trying to keep his vision from going blurry as well.

Reaching Justin's home a few moments later he parks the car at the curb and fumbles quickly for something to say, anything to get his point across that he was still here for him and wasn't planning on going anywhere. Justin opens the door and starts to get out, "I'll see you tomorrow," was all Eddy could say before the door was slammed and the one he cares about begins to run to the front door of his house.

"Justin," Edd had gotten out of the car and was walking toward him, all his other friends were looking on with sad looks in their eyes. "Do you want us to come in with you, help you break the news to your parents," Justin's eyes looked down to the ground, Edd ducked down to look him in the eye again, "Or just talk?"

"No that's cool, thanks though," The sadness was choking his voice at the moment and who could blame him, "Kevin has work and I couldn't bear to see Eddy's heart break anymore than it already has."

"You know we're here for you, especially Eddy," Edd looked over his shoulder to his friend and saw the pleading look with sad eyes that said help me so I can help him, "You know he loves you very much."

"You know I can't think about that right now," Justin's horse voice spoke very harshly, "When I look at him all I can think of is what if I hurt him, what if the condom breaks, what if I have already given it to him and it's just too early for the test to detect it, what if what if what if, there are too many chances for a mistake."

"I understand," Edd could see the fresh tears ready to fall.

"Besides, I'm going to have more important things on my mind then to have to worry about whether or not he loves me," the words were spat out but his eyes spoke that they were not entirely true.

"Ok, but just remember you're not alone, we're here for you," Edd opens his arms to invite Justin in for a hug which the boy took eagerly, "Just call us if you need anything, we will help carry the burden as long as you need."

"D?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you please tell him I love him and that I just need time."

"I'll make sure he gets the message."

"Thanks," and with that Justin releases Edd and steals a glance at the car to look at Eddy for what he thought might be the final time. He turns and walks into the house and as the door shuts behind him Eddy's heart broke once again and he could no longer hold back the flood of emotions he was so desperately trying to conceal for Justin's sake, what was he going to do for Justin was obviously shutting him out right now?

The door to the driver's side opens, "Come on Eddy let me drive," Edd said as softly as he could helping his friend out of the car and cradling him in his arms as a sob escaped his lips. Comforting his friend he squeezes tightly rocking him slightly, "I know, I know it hurts, he loves you just give him some time," Edd looks up at the house and sees a curtain fall back into place in the front window. Guiding Eddy to the passenger seat and closing the door he gets into the driver seat and heads off, dropping Kevin off at work. A bitter sweet kiss farewell with a reminder that Alice would be giving him a ride home tonight and he turns and walks into Big Lots to begin his short work day. Driving off Edd stops at one more store, buying a tub of ice cream and renting a movie from Red Box to try and divert his friends mind from the present, if only for a moment.

As they drove off back to Edd's apartment all Eddy could think about was how he should be by Justin's side right now supporting him as he told his parents the results of the test, how he should be holding his hand tight with an arm around his shoulder so he had someone to keep him steady incase his knees gave out. A tissue to wipe away the tears, a loving embrace so he knew that he would be there for him and wasn't going to abandon him, thoughts of Justin crying himself to sleep tonight tore Eddy's heart to shreds and sent a pain to the bottom of his stomach to pool there. Reaching the apartment they all went into the living room where Ed turned on the TV and put in the movie, "D do you mind if I use your computer," Eddy asked as he sat down at the desk turning on the device.

"Sure," he replied sitting down the bucket of ice cream on the counter and pulling out three bowls, filling them he brings them to his friends. Looking at the computer screen as he gave Eddy his, noticing that he was doing research on HIV prevention, protection and treatments, Edd smiled to himself a little knowing that Eddy was looking for a way to scam the gods into giving Justin as much time as possible.

Ten o'clock has finally rolled around and Kevin was glad to be clocking out and heading home, "What's wrong pumpkin," Alice asked as she locked the front door then turned to start walking toward her car.

"Sorry, it's a private matter involving a friend and I shouldn't be talking about it," Kevin said flatly, he knew she meant well but Justin's personal life was something he shouldn't share regardless of how well he trusted the person he was talking to.

"I understand, just know I am here if you ever need to talk, you don't have to give me names," her pace slowed as her car came into view and she could see her back tire was flat. "That's funny," it's possible it went flat while she was in the store but it didn't give any hint of losing air pressure on her way here. Coming around so she could see the next tire she noticed that it too was flat and so was the rest of them as well and upon the hood of her car the word freak was scratched into the paint. Taking in a breath she tried to stay calm when she spoke, "Kevin, we should get back inside and call Edd for a ride," a trucks diesel engine fires up a little ways down the parking lot. Not sure if it was just someone getting off work at another store in the strip mall or the culprits toying with them she speaks to Kevin without looking over her shoulder, "Just walk normally and keep calm." Pulling out her keys for the door her hands were shaking as she fumbled for the correct one that would unlock the door and gain them entrance back into the store.

The truck moves forward and toward them, she inserts the key and opens the door quickly ushering Kevin inside, closing the door behind her and locking it. A beer bottle slams into the wall outside sending glass and liquid everywhere, as the truck goes by two voices could be heard yelling out derogatory slurs about Alice. She quickly turns and unlocks the second set of doors and shuffles them both inside ignoring the beep of the alarm asking for her disarm code. "Go call Edd, and have him bring Kev with him," she locks the doors and thirty seconds later the alarm to the building goes off sending a signal to the police station to alert them of intruders. Two minutes later sirens could be heard headed their direction and the truck that had been circling the parking lot speeds off out the opposite direction of the main entrance. Both Alice and Kevin breathed a sigh of relief when the cops walk up to the door and notices them through the glass and directs them to step out of the building with their hands where they could see them.

As they were being frisked Edd and Kev pulled into the parking lot and sees what is going on, as soon as the car stops close to the police cruisers the red head jumps out of the vehicle to find out what happened, "You can't be here sir," a cop stops him as he approaches.

"She's my wife and she works here, or can't you tell that by the uniform," Kevin said flustered that they were treating her like a criminal.

"Just standard procedure sir," the cop replied and did not allow him any further. Once the check came back that she did in fact work there they allowed him to go to her as she gave her statement, and Kevin gave his statement twenty feet away with Edd by his side. Both statements matched up and the cops informed them that they would be on the lookout but had very little to go on, for neither Kevin nor Alice had seen the license plate and it being a small red neck town there had to be several trucks that fit that description driving around. Being told they were free to go, they got into the car and Edd drove them all back home, both Kevin and Alice were clearly a little shaken by this for who knew how many people were in that truck and what weapons they might have had with them.

Arriving home they climbed the stairs as Kev franticly was telling Alice that he would be picking her up from work from now on until this whole thing blew over. Also that he would be getting her a few things for self defense, Kevin and Edd heard something about a bat coming back out of the closet. "Thanks Kevin for being there," Alice said turning around on the steps just past their door, "They would have probably been more aggressive and quicker to action if I had been by myself."

"It's not like I did anything to help really, but," He points up at the flustered red head at the top of the stairs who was unlocking his door, "Is he going to be alright."

She looks over her shoulder and sees that Kev looked like he was about to have a coronary, "He's fine," she waved it off, "He's just being protective." In the back of her mind she was scared and knew that Kev had a good reason to be protective, but she wasn't going to show her fear, she wasn't going to let them win and intimidate her. "You two don't worry about this ok," she smiles weakly to the both of them, "It's probably just some assholes proving to themselves that their dicks are bigger than the average Joe or whatever midlife crisis they are going through."

"Yeah, probably" Kevin says but truly didn't believe this reasoning, he accepts the hug she offers him then turns to unlock his door.

"But you call us if you need anything," It was Edd's turn for a hug.

"Will do Dee Dee," She gives a playful salute then turns to head up the stairs to her waiting husband. All four of them slept uneasily that night, Kevin and Edd waking up the next morning feeling as though they needed an I.V. bag of coffee to keep them awake this day. Getting ready they loaded up into the car, being Edd's day to drive the group to school, they headed toward Justin's house first. Kevin knocked on the door to let them know his ride was here, only to be met by his sad looking mother how informed him that Justin wouldn't be going to school that day, leaving they drive over to Eddy's house and they were told that he had already left for the day.

A knock at the door and Justin mother walks back to the entryway wondering who else could be here this early in the morning or if her sons friends forgot to tell her something they need conveyed to him. Opening the door she is greeted by the pleading eyes of Eddy, "Can I see him," it was a simple request but one that was filled with so much more meaning for the boy.

Stepping aside she allows him to enter, closing the door behind him she picks up a mug and hands it to him, "Can you take that up to him for me," Eddy could see that it was tea, "Chamomile," she adds to answer the curious look he was giving the mug.

Heading up the stairs slowly as to not spill the tea, he makes his way down the hallway to the door to Justin's room, grabbing the knob he opens the door and steps in slowly. Justin lay on his bed facing the wall not turning to see who had entered, "I don't want any tea mom."

"That's too bad," Justin turns with a start to face him, "And after I brought it all the way up here and everything."

"Hey," Justin says meekly sitting up on his bed.

Eddy takes a few steps forward, "Hey," he sets the mug on the nightstand, "So I've been thinking, and I needed to tell you that I'm not going anywhere," he sits on the bed next to Justin, "That I love you and will stand by you through this."

"But what about…." He places the tips of his fingers upon Justin's mouth to silence his protests.

Dropping his hand to his lap he continues with what he needed to say, "I've done some research," Justin gives him a strange look, "I know right, me doing research what's the world coming to." He laughs half heartedly at himself, "I've made a choice, I'm coming out to my parents about being bi and I'm going to ask them to put me on PrEP, and if they ask why I'll just tell them it's precautionary." He reaches over to take Justin's hand, "When you feel comfortable to have sex again we'll be practicing safe sex of course, but the PrEP will be a second line of defense just in case."

"I want you to get tested again," Justin blurted out.

"Of course."

"And regularly."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Eddy caressed the back of his hand with his thumb.

Justin reaches up and rests his hand on the back of Eddy's neck caressing his cheek with his thumb as he brought their foreheads together, "I just don't want you to get sick."

"I know," in truth Eddy didn't want to get sick either but he wasn't going to bring voice to that concern, "I'm here and I want to be with you, we will be very careful and take it very slow. I won't push you to have sex unless you want to," placing his hand on Justin's chest, "It's what's in here that matters most to me, not what's in your pants."

A tear rolls down Justin's cheek, "I love you."

Eddy gives him a sweet chaste kiss, "And I love you." The two of them skipped school that day together laying in Justin's bed having a good cry when they felt like they needed it. Discussing their options further and Eddy giving him a list of questions he needed to ask his doctor when he went for his visit, as well as informing him of several things to expect from that visit and what the current treatment options where. Justin was feeling a little better now, though he was still feeling like his future was bleak, his mind was at ease knowing that he had someone by his side to walk this path with. And with their friends by their side they both knew that whatever troubles were thrown their way they would have help carrying the load.

 **A/N- PrEP for those who don't know stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and according to studies is 90% effective at preventing infection. Even if you're on it you should still practice safe sex, for there is still a 10% chance of infection, you wouldn't put a gun to your head and pull the trigger even if five of the six chambers were empty now would you. All it takes is that one time to change your life forever, all it takes is one time to burn so many bridges, not to mention the stigma people face because of their status.**


	57. Out of the Darkness

Chapter 57 – 12th Grade – Out of the Darkness

 **A/N- Warnings: Transphobic behavior, Language, descriptions of rape, violence. Rave belongs to KirKurryArt/Eyugho. Yes I know I have made reference to Rave before in this fic, but I never truly said a name now did I, just doing a little prep work. And sorry it has been a week since I updated any of my stories but I have been sick and couldn't think straight, still a little groggy in the head so hopefully this flows right.**

After their neighbors had left to go to school Alice woke to the protective arms of her husband around her waist. Normally Kevin would already be out of bed and headed to work in Summerville, but after last night's drama he had decided to take the day off to drive her around to get a few estimates on removing the words scratched into the hood of her car. Rolling over she kisses Kevin on the cheek, "Wake up my prince," she lays her head back down on the pillow and begins to play with the hair right behind his ear flicking the lob every now and then.

"Five more minutes mommy," Kevin replies sleepily as he nuzzles his face against her bosom.

Cocking a brow at the man she loved, she leans in and whispers in his ear, "Non, petit un, il est temps de faire le cul hors du lit."

After being together for nearly twenty years you catch on to few things, and French was one of those things Kevin had caught onto, and the fact that she only used it for two situations, either she was being flirtatious or deadly serious. And right now it wasn't flirtatious, "I'm up, I'm up," he replies as he rolls out of bed and sleepily heads toward the shower. She gets out of bed as well and puts on her silk robe, and heads into the kitchen to put on the tea kettle and grind some coffee beans for their morning dose of caffeine. An hour later they are dressed, caffeinated, fed and out the door to meet the tow truck at her work. At least they would be able to get the tires changed today, they would have to wait for the insurance company to approve the estimates for the paint job before they proceeded any further.

Arriving at the store they park and start walking toward the car which had the flatbed tow truck already positioned in front of it, and the ramp already elevated upwards. The driver, a friend of theirs by the name of Chuck starts to walk their direction, "Morning Chuck," Kevin calls out, "How's David?"

"He's fine, thanks for asking," A look of concern crosses the burly man's face.

Alice was almost too afraid to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Well to put it to you simply, your cars fucked," Chuck's blunt answer brought a reprimanding look from Alice, to which he replied sheepishly, "Pardon my language."

Picking up the pace they walk around the tow truck to find that the assailants had come back after they had left last night and had done more damage to the car. The only reason they didn't get it towed last night was there would be no place open to drop it off at, and thus they would have paid twice to move the vehicle, once to have it moved to their home then again to transport it to a shop. Surveying the additional damage they saw that all the windows had been busted out, probably by a bat or some other blunt object, they had also spray painted a few transphobic words into the sides of the vehicle in bright pink letters. All four tires rims had been removed and the car lay flat on the ground unsupported, Chuck motions for them to take a look at where the wheels had been. "From what I can tell they propped the car up on cinder blocks, took the rims off then knocked the blocks out from under it," as she looked closer Alice could see the pieces of broken blocks under the car, "It looks like the impact bent the axel and frame."

Kevin straightens up and asks, "So what does all this mean besides more money?"

"Look I won't tell the boss about the extra stuff I will have to do for this tow, so that'll save you at least $75, but I would be prepared for your insurance to claim it out as totaled."

"Thanks Chuck," Kevin pats the man on the shoulder and looks over to see Alice already on the phone with the cops to get another police report for the additional damage, "Hope you weren't in a rush."

"Nope, I got all day." They spent the next hour filling out another police report and taking photos for the insurance company before even getting started on getting what was left of the car loaded on the back of the flatbed tow truck. Transporting the vehicle to the repair shop the insurance company told them to go to so they could get started on inspecting the damage.

* * *

The next day Justin went to school with his mother by his side, understandably still in low spirits, but he was going to take the first steps to reclaiming his life. The first thing he felt he had to do was go and see his coach and quit the football team, with such an aggressive sport he couldn't take the chance of getting injured and infecting someone by accidental exposure. The meeting was held in the principal's office, where they asked for confidentiality and explained the situation on why he was quitting and ask that they discreetly get the team tested. Justin had been injured a few times during the summer practice season, a bloody nose here a busted lip there a scrapped elbow or knee, the possibilities and fears were endless for Justin and his parents, and they wanted to take no chances. The staff promised to keep his condition under wraps and because of the concern over accidental exposure they would go to the school board for guidance on discreetly asking the parents to screen their children for the disease.

The next step was not going to be easy for Justin, but he knew that telling those he had sexual relations with that they needed to get tested was the right choice. The list wasn't very long at all to be honest, only three other people besides Eddy, two of them being fellow classmates, and the third person was someone he tried to avoid if at all possible. The first two took him a couple of days to build up the courage to tell, and he apologized franticly to them as he explained that he had just found out himself, hoping that they would understand and not judge him to harshly. At least he was trying to be honorable and give them the knowledge they needed to live a long and productive life if he had accidentally exposed them, it was more then he could say for some.

By the end of the week Eddy had taken a first step in coming out as bi, telling his mother about his relationship with Justin. He still however felt uncomfortable telling his father and decided not to and begged her to keep it from him as well to which she agreed. The second step of asking to be put on PrEP was a bit tougher to explain, but with a few choice words and some smooth talking he managed to get her to agree to it without having to explain Justin's status to her. The appointment was set up and the prescription filled, and the little white lie of anti-depressants was decided on if his father was to ask about the medication. Justin by this time had gone for his first doctor's appointment concerning his HIV, several vials of blood were drawn and sent for testing, everything from virus load, to liver tests, to an allergy test were done to determine the best treatment for him. Now they had to wait for those results before a medication could be prescribed for him, if his liver wasn't functioning properly certain meds couldn't be used, if his viral load was high a more aggressive treatment was needed to bring it down. But the doctor assured him that he would more than likely be on the one pill a day regiment and not the old cocktails of the past, it would be easier to manage and has all the medication he would need to live a long life.

On Saturday as they lay on the couch cuddling watching a movie together Justin seemed a little on edge and fidgety. Eddy was concerned that maybe he had been a little too upbeat about his news about getting put on PrEP, and that it was still too soon for Justin to think about such things like sex. As he looked at their intertwined fingers Eddy asks, "Are you alright baby? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with what I said."

"No it's not that," Justin gave his hand a gentle squeeze and pulled him in closer, "I just have something on my mind."

"Anything I can help you with?"

Justin took a few deep choppy breaths and Eddy could feel him shaking a little, "I think I know how I got it." Eddy looks over his shoulder and sees Justin's eyes begin to fill with tears, "I don't know why I didn't say anything when it happened, I could have taken the PEP treatment and then I might not be in this boat."

Eddy could tell that Justin had been holding something in for a very long time, and now it was all spilling out, "What happened Justin?" He sits up and faces his boyfriend with a concerned but supportive look in his eyes.

Justin opened his mouth a few times trying to say the words but found it hard to get them to form, but in a horse voice he finally got them to come out, "Kyle raped me," he buried his face in Eddy's lap as the tears fell. Eddy was unsure how he could comfort him but he did the best he could and listened as it all came pouring out. Between his sobs he explained what happened, "It was shortly after I came out to my family last year, I stayed over at their place to watch some movies and talk to them about the things I should know about gay culture. The night was all Kyle's suggestion from the start." Justin wipes away the tears and does his best to calm himself, "A few beers later and Sammy is out like a light, at first I didn't think anything of it, probably just a long day at work you know, but now I'm not so sure. I passed out shortly after Sammy and that's where it's all a blur, I kept going in and out of consciousness from that point." As he continued it became increasingly apparent that it was very difficult for him to form what had happened to him into words, "The next thing I knew I was on the bed in the spare room and he's going down on me, then I wake up again and I'm on my stomach and he's inside me, I tried to struggle but I couldn't manage anything, all I remember from that moment on is pain." Justin climbs up into Eddy's arms and rests his head on his shoulder, "When I woke up I was out the door, making up some excuse to my Uncle on why I left, and from then on I stayed as far from him as I could."

Eddy could not find any words to undo the pain that had been brought upon Justin, all he could do was comfort him, rocking him gently in his arms as he let it all come forth like a dam that had finally broke. After some time passed Justin began to calm down enough for Eddy to ask the question, "Do you want to put him away for what he's done?" Justin nods and Eddy kisses him on the forehead and heads upstairs to get his mother, that night Justin had to tell his story at least three more times, once to his mother, then the cops, then to his Uncle Sammy after Kyle's arrest. Sammy was mortified at what had happened under his roof, and if he had the chance would have beat Kyle to death himself for what he had done. The charges brought against him were second degree sexual assault against a minor, sodomy and once it was discovered that he had prior knowledge of his HIV statues criminal transmission of HIV was added, Sammy unfortunately had also been exposed to the disease by this man he thought he had known. He was sentenced to thirty years without parole, though most thought the sentence was still too lenient for the crimes he had committed. Being a minor Justin's name was left out of the paper, but being a small town it doesn't take long for news to spread.

* * *

Close to the end of the month and Alice was contemplating finding new employment as customer complaints about her seemed to be a weekly occurrence, and from what she could gather from the other assistant manager it seemed to be the same four or five people. Also she has started to notice that the work she had been doing was falling under major scrutiny from her boss. The job she use to get praised for now seems to never be good enough for the man, threats of write ups and the consequences of getting to many of those were now looming over her head. Not to mention he was their landlord, and if the reasons for his dissatisfaction was what she feared they might be, then their housing situation might become dire as well. The straw that broke the camel's back however was a little old lady who came through her line today, she handed Alice a pamphlet as she paid, telling her she might want to read a certain part of it. Upon immediate inspection she could see that it was religious in nature and could guess as to the ladies intent, this made a bit of her insides boil with the old rage she use to have. But taking a breath and keeping her calm she smiled and thanked the lady for shopping there as she handed her back her change and waited for her to leave before promptly throwing the paper away.

A knock at the door brings her out of her thoughts, standing she crosses the room and down the small flight of steps to open her door, she nearly screamed when she saw who it was. Standing on the other side of the door was her old friend and high school theatrical rival Rave, "DARLING," the diva throws out both his arms and wraps them around Alice.

Alice was a little in shock, surely Rave would have called ahead to let her know he was coming, "Sweetie, when did you get into town?"

"Just now," He backs up just a hair and looks her over, a kiss to each cheek and he invites himself in, "Send that man of yours down to help me get my shit out of the car."

"Rave."

"I know darling, language," taking a quick glance around to look the open space of her apartment over, "Love the loft darling, but who do I have to fuck to get a decent martini around here?"

She just decided to give up on his language already, after twenty two years of knowing each other she was use to it by now, but it didn't stop her from trying to clean up his vocabulary. Pointing to the cabinets in the kitchen area, "Top left," he pulls out all the necessary items and begins to mix the drink, and Alice asks, "So what on earth pulled you from New York and back to Peach Creek?"

"You darling," Rave responded as he poured the liquid into his glass, "Your man calls me up out of the blue to see how things were going and I was like fuck it, no better time than the present, and here I am."

He pulls out a cigarette and Alice ushers him out the back door to the fire exit, "And what about your carrier? Last you told me everything was Champaign and roses up there," She takes a cigarette from her friend and lights it, it had been ages since the last time she had smoked but her nerves demanded one at the moment.

"Look at me, I'm thirty one," Alice quickly corrected him with a six, "And getting leads is now a thing of the past for me, it's a young man's game. The best I can hope for is a part as an extra or the old mean uncle or father, instead of Hamlet I'm now Claudius, and besides its cheaper down here anyways."

"Ah but you always did make a good villain," she takes a drag off her smoke and then exhales, "So what are you going to do for money now?"

"I can see if the old theater group needs any good villains, worst case I can get a waiter position somewhere."

"With that mouth of yours I'm sure you'll be raking in the tips." She flicked the cigarette away remembering why she quit in the first place.

"Girl, when it comes to my money, I'm an angel."

Flicking right above his head as though hitting the halo, "Yeah but I see those horns holding that sucker in place."

 **A/N- Ok seeing how I have never done Rave before I just decided to model him after Patsy and Edina from Absolutely Fabulous, foul mouthed diva's with a few bad vises. The French from the beginning is suppose to say "No, little one, it's time to get your ass out of bed"**


	58. Baby Mine

Chapter 58 – 12th Grade – Baby Mine

 **A/N- Sorry yet again for delays to updates, the Christmas season is a hectic one for me with work not to mention all the little crap that keeps popping up like internet issues and such (FF15). Hopefully after the holiday's I can return to a normal update schedule.**

It was the final week of August on a Saturday morning when we find Edd shopping online while Kevin slept in, the following month of September held two special days for the pair, Kevin's birthday and their anniversary. Being the first of hopefully many to come Edd was pondering whether he should combine both into one big gift or if he should give him two smaller ones instead. But with so many choices to choose from the decision was proving to be a difficult one for him, but unfortunately everything within his price range just didn't seem good enough as a single gift, so the fates and his wallet has decided that it will be two gifts instead of one. Perusing Gamestop's online store while listening to Spotify he feels Kevin's strong arms wrap around him while his lips with a hint of stubble kissed Edd's neck, tickling him slightly and making him flinch from the sensation with a light laugh. Kevin pulls back the headset from one of his ears, "Good morning," then nibbles the lob playfully.

The stubble makes contact with Edd's neck again and he playfully pushes his face away, "Kevin, your beard tickles."

Taking off the headset as Kevin walks into the kitchen wearing only a pair of pajama bottoms, "I'm thinking about growing it out." He looks in Edd's direction and rubs his cheek with the back of his fingers to feel the stubble, "What do you think, do you think I would look good with a beard?"

"I honestly think you would look hot with a beard," Edd then smiled at his fiancé mischievously, "So you're going to be my Papa Bear now?"

"You know it baby bear," Kevin gets a towel from the laundry room and heads toward the bathroom to get ready for his day.

"I believe the correct term for me is twink or Twinkie."

"And it describes you so well to, oh so sweet," he comes back over to the desk and kisses the top of Edd's head, "And cream filled," then dodges the smack Edd playfully gave him as he laughed.

"You love my cream filling."

"You know it babe," he calls from the bathroom before closing the door, giving Edd a little more time to window shop for him. Twenty minutes later Kevin exits the bathroom still unshaven and as heads to their bedroom to get dressed he calls out, "Remember today is the day M.D. gets out of the hospital and we're going over to Ed's to see the little guy."

"Right," Edd shuts down the computer and goes to get another cup of coffee, "Do you remember were we put the Pooh Bear at?"

"Top shelf of the storage closet," Edd opens the door to the closet and finds it exactly where Kevin said it was, already placed in a gift bag, "Was it there?"

"Yeah," he sets it down on the couch in hopes of not forgetting it, "What time is he supposed to get out, I have to be to work by two."

"It's only ten thirty now babe, and Ed texted like fifteen minutes ago that they were signing the discharge papers so they should be home by the time we get there." He steps out of the bedroom and sees Edd's worried look, for we all know how hospitals take their sweet time with things, "Don't worry babe, you'll have plenty of time to hold your godson."

A quick breakfast of Wheaties for Kevin and they were out the door to see if little Michael had made it home yet, arriving at Ed's front door eighteen minutes later. Knocking on the door they were greeted by the warm smile of Ed's mother then were led into the nursery where Angelica was nursing her son with a bottle. The baby boy lay there in his mother's arms, eyes barely open as though the act of feeding was the only thing keeping him awake, his little hands clinching and relaxing, his tiny feet kicking under the thin blanket he was wrapped in. Angelica looked up for a moment to greet them as they entered, but quickly returned her attention back to her baby, the look of love for her child apparent in her eyes as she gazed at his sleepy face.

Kevin pulls the little Pooh Bear from the bag and kneels down beside the rocker and Edd's heart nearly melted for the man once again as he made silly noises while showing Michael his new toy. Edd sits down beside her in a fold out chair that Ed had provided for him, then reaches over and places one finger in the boys hand, to which little Michael gently grips.

A few moments later he became fussy and moved his head so the bottle popped out of his mouth, Angelica puts the bottle down and places him on the shoulder the swaddling cloth was on and rubs his back until he lets out an epic baby burp along with a little mess. All cleaned up and relieved of the swallowed air the little boy yawns in his mother's arms, "Would you like to hold him D?" She asks softly of her friend, Edd just simply nods in response, and with a few short fusses from the boy she gently puts him in Edd's arms. There is something wonderful about a baby, as though a little bit of hope has been born into the world, as though another chance has been given to the human race to get it right this time. And as he looked down into that precious little face, as Kevin took pictures to show Leslie later, Edd could feel his heart fill with the love and hope this little one represented. A small part of him was jealous of his two friends for he secretly wished he could have a child of his own, and as he looked up at Kevin who was taking yet another picture, he knew that their child would be loved.

The rest of the visit was filled with small talk about his upcoming baptism, their hopes for his future and the possibility of D and Kevin babysitting once he got older, so that mommy and daddy could have a date night every now and then. All this culminated with a visit from Eddy and Justin which woke M.D. up from a nap as Eddy was a little too loud when he remarked on how cute the boy looked. And before they knew it the time had gone by way to fast and Edd needed to head out to get to work, Kevin drops him off at the family owned Italian restaurant where he worked as a busboy/dishwasher as well as a part time waiter on the weekends. Kissing his love farewell Kevin speeds off to make it to his own job on time, stepping in to the shop he clocks in and begins folding napkins and setting up the tables, being interrupted as he stored the folded napkins by a gentle cough. Looking up he finds a middle aged man in his mid to late thirties with a lithe figure and a flamboyant style of dress, "Hello, Just one today?" Edd quickly stood up and reached over for a menu.

"Oh no darling," the man waved his question off, "I was just coming by to see if this fine establishment was doing any hiring."

The man was looking Edd over very intently as he pulled an application out from under the counter and handed it to him with a pen, "You can sit at the booth over there and I'll inform the boss once you have completed it."

"Thank you," a glance at his name badge, "Edd, that's a unique way of spelling it."

"Yes I get that all the time," Edd said flustered as he stepped around the counter to continue his work.

"My names James, but most call me Rave."

"A pleasure to meet you James, but I do apologize, I must be getting back to setting up the tables."

"Don't let me keep you darling," Rave took a step back and motioned toward the booth, "I'll just be over here, filling out my app, being fiscally responsible." The last part was done very dramatically with an exasperated expression and defensive posturing of the hands, Alice's tongue lashing about him getting out there right this instant and supporting himself playing again in his head. The drama queen that was apparently Rave made Edd laugh to himself. Edd busied himself finishing the prep work while a few paying customers looked over the menu's and ordered their food, all the while Rave filled out his application.

Waving down Edd he hands him the application and waited patiently for the owner to arrive and interview him, more like interrogate him, "Hello James."

Rave had a little pang of guilt for having to pull this card out of his deck right out the gate, "Hello Uncle Jo Jo." The man sits in the booth across from Rave, sitting the application down in front of him, keeping his hand upon it.

"What brings you to town?"

"A change of scenery."

"Is that so," the man looked over the application then up at his nephew, "There's an awful lot of jobs on here, with such short work history."

"Well when you're an actor…"

"I know James, I know, and how did that acting career pan out for ya?" The man cocked a brow at his deflating nephew, "Not so go I see."

"I just need a chance Uncle Jo Jo," the look in Raves eyes was a little more desperate then he wanted to come off as.

He looked over the application once again and saw that the vast majority of Raves side work was as a waiter, "I'm sorry but Edd's got the last waiter position, and he's a good kid,"

"I'll do anything, I don't care."

An exasperated sigh came from Joe, "Look you were a pain in the ass when you were a kid and you worked here, always needing this day off for this or that weekend off for that." A pleading look from Rave and another sigh from Joe, "Alright I might need some help in the kitchen, but if you take this job you're here when I schedule you, two weeks advanced notice if you need a day off, and no bullshit excuses."

"Yes sir," Rave wanted to give his uncle a hug but decided against it, the older man had a very strict view on masculinity and two men hugging did not fall in line with that view. Don't get me wrong he's not a hater either, what you do in your life is your business in his opinion, if it doesn't affect him then he doesn't care. He would also stand up for whoever needed it regardless of what some book said or how the vast majority of society though about it.

"Come in Monday morning at eight sharp and I'll show you what you'll be doing," the man stood up and started walking toward the back, "Remember eight sharp James."


	59. Geburtstag

Chapter 59 – 12th Grade – Geburtstag

 **A/N- Geburtstag (** **ɡəˈbuːɐ̯ʦˌtaːk)** **is German for birthday, pronunciation tip, in the German alphabet E sounds like A and A sounds like ah. And one more tidbit about the German alphabet when saying your ABC's G sounds like gay.**

The week following Michaels return home had been an eventful one, with the happy parents being showered with presents and items they would need to start their family off right. The premature birth had caused the baby shower to be canceled, which had been originally scheduled for the weekend following Kevin and Edd's housewarming party. But all those who were suppose to attend, which included Angelica's mother, were just as happy to present their gifts to the doting mother, giving them each a chance to hold the baby along with several pictures opportunities which demanded to be taken. Experienced mothers passed along their words of wisdom to Angelica, along with reassurances that they would be more than happy to help her with any future questions that may arise, it's like the old saying goes "it takes a village".

Along with the essentials of diapers, baby wipes and gifts of clothes in a few different sizes, came an assortment of different toddler toys from Eddy and Edd's parents. Angelica's mother brought a stroller and car seat combination while Ed's parents gave them a play pin and baby swing. The new parents were grateful for the help, because he was still a minor the only work Edd could get at the moment was a part time job at the local Kroger store. Being minimum wage and only getting twenty hours a week did not afford them the ability to get such things for their child on their own at the moment, his future goal however was to try for factory work once he turned eighteen. Now that her son was home Angelica's plan was to get back into school as soon as she could, and to find a part time job for herself during the evenings, hopefully then they could provide a little more for their child without having to count too much on Ed's parents.

As the guests left that afternoon Angelica's mother stays behind to have a talk to her daughter, she looked into the crib where her grandson lay, "You know, it only feels like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital."

Angelica joins her to look down upon the sleeping babe, "You're not going to get all sappy on me now are you?"

"No, I'm not," She sighs as she adjusts the blanket on the child and he stirs ever so slightly but did not wake up. "You'll always be our baby though, and you know we love you," she looks to her daughter and sees a look of sadness in her eyes, more than likely to do with her father.

"I know."

"So would you do your mother a favor and bring your son and that man of yours out to dinner with us next week." The look of apprehension was very apparent on Angelica's face, "I promise your father will be on his best behavior."

"You promise he's not going to start preaching at me, or try and make me change my mind about this marriage?" She had honestly missed her parents, even if her father did act like a total jack ass the last time they had talked with each other. But that's the thing about families, that we sometimes say things in the heat of the moment that we truly didn't mean, but this doesn't mean she will forgive him right away either. But she felt that she must at least take the first step to mending the bridge between them, for no one will ever fight as fiercely for you then family will, even when they are fighting with you.

"He regrets most of what he said that day," she slides her hand across the railing of the crib to take her daughters hand. "Think of this as a chance to show him that Ed is doing right by you, and also what he will be missing if he can't accept your marriage."

She let out a quiet sigh, she knew now was just as good of a time as any to extend the laurel wreath, "Ok, I'll let you know what days that Ed is off, but so you know I won't put up with him bad mouthing Ed or my family, we will leave."

"I promise it will stay civil on our end," her phone vibrated and she looked at the screen, "It's your father, so impatient for pictures of the little one." Putting her phone back in her purse she hugs her daughter, "Just call me and let me know when we can get together next week," she squeezed a little tighter on the hug, "I love you."

"I love you to, mom," they release each other and her mother silently heads out the door. Angelica sits in the rocker by the crib and looks at her sleeping child, "You want to meet your grandpa don't you?" She sat there and contemplated all the things she would have to worry about for a second, Ed would be here to watch Michael while she was at school, but the extra set of hands to watch him in case they both had to work would be nice.

That Thursday was Kevin's birthday, which consisted of a birthday dinner at Edd's parent's house, along with the traditional cake and birthday song, with Edd spanking him on the ass with whispered promises of the other seventeen to come later. When Kevin was thrown out of his parent's house a little under a year ago he had immediately assumed that birthdays and holidays were a thing of the past, a thing best forgotten, how glad he was that he had turned out to be wrong. Surrounded by friends and people who he now considered his family, he was hard pressed to remember a better birthday in his short life, and he was thankful for the love he was given by the people who surrounded him.

Alice's present to him was giving him the weekend off to spend with his fiancé, Friday after school was spent doing their homework, and Edd's arguments for this were so they could relax for the rest of the weekend and not have to rush to get it done on Sunday. How could Kevin argue with logic like that, especially when it comes from the one that you love? With their homework now complete they lay spooning on the couch together watching the latest DC movie release, Kevin would purposely tickle Edd's neck with his beard as he reached over to nip his ear or just for no other reason than to watch the man squirm under the affectionate act. Falling asleep in each other's arms just moments before the climax of the movie, only waking up to the loud sound of the saw cutting through metal as the Joker broke Harley out of her cell. Turning off the TV they shuffled into their bedroom and fell back to sleep moments later, safe and comfortable in the other's arms.

The following morning Kevin woke around nine to an empty bed, being fully aware that Edd had woken up two hours prior to him. Ever since Edd had his emotional crisis a little over a month ago Kevin would wake up whenever he'd feel Edd leave the bed just to make sure that everything was alright with his love before he would fall back to sleep. Dr. Lee has since then prescribed a light dosage of anti-depressants which seem to be helping Edd maintain stability in his emotional state, but none the less Kevin kept up his vigil. Sliding out of bed he yawns and stretches as he walks around toward the bedroom door, he hears Edd conversing with someone and stops to put on some clothes before he exits the room. "So did you get it?" a pause but Kevin couldn't hear anyone respond, "No he's still asleep," Kevin decided that Edd must be on the phone and walks out of the room in his boxer briefs to tease his fiancé a little. "Alright we'll see you tonight then," the quiet chirp of the call ending was heard as Kevin neared the living room door.

"So Alice has everything you all will need for tonight?" Leslie's voice could be heard sitting right around the corner from the door that Kevin was inches from walking through.

"Yes Mother, she seems to be quiet capable at procuring these types of things," Edd replies as Kevin made a rapid u-turn to go back to the bedroom to make himself decent. All the while perking up his ears out of curiosity on what Edd and Alice were planning for this evening.

"Here honey take this," she riffled through her purse to pull out her wallet, opening it she hands Edd a one hundred dollar bill.

"Thank you, but we are doing just fine, I assure you," Edd gently pushes her hand that was clutching the money back.

"I know you are, then at least take him out to dinner on us," she pushes the money back toward him, "It's not every day someone hits a milestone in their life." Seeing Edd's determination on the subject she gently pushes again, "I insist," and takes his hand and places the money in it.

Kevin closes the drawer to the dresser noisily to alert them that he was awake before walking through toward the bathroom to take a shower, Edd hide the money in his pocket before Kevin entered the room thus ending the small debate on the subject. Stopping as he passed through, "Hey Mom, I didn't realize you were here," Edd knew better since Kevin was wearing his pajamas instead of just underwear, but he didn't think the cat had been let out of the bag.

"Oh I was just stopping in on my lunch break to see if you boys needed anything," she looked kind of flustered as she hoped Kevin hadn't overheard their conversation, "I've got the swing shift at the hospital today."

"Hey while I got you here," Kevin inched toward the bathroom door as he spoke, "Why don't you and Dad come by for dinner tomorrow?" He appreciated her intentions by giving Edd the money, but if they were going to buy the meal he was going to include them in it.

"Oh that sounds good."

"Cool, gives me a chance to show off my skills," Kevin declared enthusiastically.

"So say about six then?" Leslie asks and Kevin confirms, looking at her watch she stands, "I've got to go," she kisses Kevin on the cheek, "You boys have fun tonight," then Edd. Kevin looked curious about the statement, Edd looked mortified at it, and she looked at her son apologetically, then exits through the door quickly as to not let any more clues slip.

Sauntering over to Edd he straddles his lap and whispers in his ear, "So what's happening tonight," then nibbles his ear lobe.

Edd shuddered at the pleasure Kevin masterfully produced in him, Edd breathed out huskily, "If you keep that up you'll be tied to the bed, that's what will be happening."

"Oo kinky, me likes," Kevin sucks on the lobe letting it pop from his mouth, "Talk dirty to me daddy."

Kevin was now teasing the sensitive spot on his neck as Edd's hands were exploring the well known curves of Kevin's body, "You can't bribe me this way."

"Even if I promise to suck you off?"

"You'd do that anyways," Edd panted as Kevin's flicked his nipple with his thumb while continuing to explore his body with his tongue, "It's a surprise so you'll just have to wait."

"Alright keep your secrets," Kevin playfully pouted then ground his hips against Edd's erection, "But since I already have your attention." He smirks deviously as he stands and leads Edd into the bathroom, nothing says good morning better than making love to your fiancé while he is pined against the shower wall.

Kevin bounced around nervously after the shower wondering what Edd and Alice had up their respective sleeves for him that evening. He passed the time waiting for his answer by playing the video game Edd had gotten him for his birthday, the newest call of duty, while occasionally checking the time on his new cell phone that mom and dad had got him. At half past six o'clock Kevin turns off the TV and goes into the bedroom to find Edd laying out a change of clothes for the both of them, Edd looks up when he notices him at the door. Leaning against the doorframe he picks Eddy's present up off the night stand, "So when's this surprise happening?"

"Soon," Edd replied as he was deciding between two of Kevin's shirts.

Kevin twirled the cuffs with his forefinger, "Do we got enough time for round two?"

The devious smirk spread across Kevin's face as Edd eyed the cuffs in his possession, "Nope sorry," Edd said a little too matter-of-factly, Kevin just chalked it up as nerves about the restraints. "Alice texted and we'll be leaving in a half an hour, it's time to get ready." Freshening up quickly they changed into the clothes that Edd had chosen, Edd wore a faded pair of denim skinny jeans with a grey t-shirt with a black printed design on it of Japanese folk art. Kevin wore a dark pair of lose fitting denim jeans with a ocean blue t-shirt that had black and white designs running along the left shoulder that contained the Fleur-de-lis in it.

At five till seven a soft knock was heard at the door, Kevin practically ran to the door swinging it open quickly to find Alice on the other side with Kev beside her, "Boy someone's eager." The outfit she was wearing reminded Kevin of Sandra Dee from the ending of grease, but without all the curly hair.

Edd walked by casually, tucking his wallet in his back pocket as he was heading to the living room to pick up his keys from the coffee table, "He caught wind of it."

"Everything?"

"Nope, but he's dying to find out," getting what he needed from the living room he joins them at the door and Alice hands him two ID's. Looking them over Edd remarks, "This is wonderful work, you can't tell the difference between them." Kevin snatches them and looks them over, they were both Edd's ID, but one had the year altered to make him eighteen instead of seventeen.

"That's the point," Alice took them from Kevin and handed them back to Edd, "Just remember to put the fake one in front and your real one in the back of your wallet so you don't get them mixed up."

"So what are we doing, why do you need a fake ID?" Kevin's excitement was now through the roof, the man he loved was going to bend the rules tonight, and for some odd reason the thought of a trouble maker Edd was kind of hot to him.

Alice's sighs and motions to Kevin while addressing Edd, "Are you going to tell him so he'll stop acting like a dog trying to hump our legs."

"Well my love," Edd leads him out the door as Kev and Alice started down the stairs, "We're going to Summerville to have dinner and then go out to a night club afterward."

Edd locks the door and Kevin asks, "A gay club?" Edd nods, "Dancing?" Edd nods again, "Like grinding our hips together in front of everyone kind of dancing?" Edd nods yet again, "Oh fuck yeah were going," and Kevin takes his hand and practically runs down the stairs. Meeting Kev and Alice in front of her newish car they noticed that Eddy's car was parked behind it with both Eddy and Justin in the front seat along with Rave and Eddy's mother Margie sitting in the back, all of them having an animated conversation amongst themselves as they waited.

Climbing into Alice's 2009 Kia Optima they buckled up and head out closely followed by Eddy, along the way Kev explained to the both them about the law in Summerville, which allowed teenagers eighteen years and older to enter certain licensed bars as long as they were sponsored by someone twenty one years of age or older. "So absolutely no drinking," he was speaking more to Kevin then Edd, "We're already going in with two people using fake ID's, so we don't need them taking a closer look at them and baring anyone."

"I think you need to worry about Eddy more than me," Kevin replied trying not to sound offended, he understood that it was their asses on the line here.

Alice looked in the rear view mirror at him as she spoke, "Oh we've already had a long conversation with him about it, and his mother assures me that she'll keep him in line." The rest of the hour long drive to Summerville was filled with pleasant conversations and explanations about the bar complex they were headed to, where they as minors were allowed to go and what was restricted. The complex was sectioned off into five areas, a drag bar, dance floor, stripper bar, piano bar, and leather bar. The only place that was off limits to minors was the Leather bar, for two reasons, it had its own private entrance on the outside of the building and the owners felt that the boys got a little to "rowdy" at times and didn't want to scare off any new clientele.

When they made it in town they stopped off and had dinner at a fancy Chinese restaurant, enjoying each other's company with jovial conversations about this or that. Alice whispering in Eddy's ear from time to time, with Eddy asking Justin what he thought about it, the subject of the conversation was apparently going to stay between the three of them and god for the time being. Rave and Margie were on the opposite side of the table from her son, having a wonderful conversation about theater and cinema, to which Edd joined in on occasion followed by Kevin who would give his opinion. Edd had been slowly exposing him to the genre of classic movies in exchange they would watch some action flick that Kevin enjoyed, both finding something good in each. Just last week Kevin was able to stay awake through Sweeny Todd due to all the murder and blood in the movie, and he had to admit that the songs weren't that bad either.

Leaving the restaurant they made their way downtown and arrived at their destination a little before nine thirty, finding a parking spot in a lot half a block away, they walked to the bar to be met by a line at the entrance. Slowly they proceeded forward until they finally entered the main doors of the building, hearing a familiar voice Alice looks up at the desk where they were checking ID's, "Shit, its Roxy."

Kev and Rave both look toward the desk as well, "Roxy?" Edd asks the curiosity plainly visible in his voice.

Rave answers for Alice, "She thought she was being cute when she came up with the name Tifa Van Rockin."

Kev blanches remembering the old joke she used for her name and the fact that time hand not apparently been kind to her, "But who'd want to come a knocking?"

"Probably too much," Alice puts her finger to her nose, "And," then taps her arm with two of her fingers, insinuating to much drug use was the cause of her failing looks.

"Alice and Ms. Thing up there were old rivals," Rave points with his thumb toward the desk, "She always thought she was hot shit, but Alice knocked her down a peg or two on more than one occasion."

"We're lucky she likes Rave and Kev," Alice pointed out then thought for a moment before looking toward Kev, "Maybe you should sponsor Edd in."

"What about the family resemblance excuse," Kev protested.

"We're married, it doesn't matter who sponsors who," being next in line she tried to keep her voice down and discreetly motion for Kevin to come stand by her.

"ID's please," that familiar nasally, fingers down a chalkboard voice asked before she looked up and recognized who was standing before her. "As I live and breathe, what Mummy's curse pulled your well preserved corpse out of the ground," Roxy asked as she gave Alice the once over.

And the reading shall now begin, "Oh sweetie, you're looking fabulous tonight, I'm so glad the Jenny Craig worked for you, or did you discover you hadn't lost your gag reflex after all?" Alice retorted as she handed Roxy both hers and Kevin's ID's.

Taking them both she looks at them, "No darling you're the woman of the hour no doubt about that, I must say I do love the boob job, however I should be honest with you, as an old friend," she mock whispered this last part placing a hand by her mouth, "I think ones hanging lower than the other."

Alice's blood boiled just a little with that statement but refused to let it show, "And I also must be honest with you darling, as an old friend, that it's so good seeing you here, working at our old stomping grounds. Rave darling wasn't I just saying how good it was to see her again, but such a waste of talent to have you manning the front desk." Alice made a few sounds of disapproval with her tongue, "Such a waste, but I'm sure you'll get your chance on that stage one day, maybe they'll hold your memorial service here and prop your coffin up there."

Paper clipping both ID's together Roxy puts them in a box alphabetically, "That'll be thirty bucks," and places a wrist band on Kevin and using a marker placed an X on both his hands.

Alice hands her the money and thanked her when she got her change back, "I hope you live for a thousand years darling, the world would be at a loss without your charm in it." She leads Kevin into the dance bar not allowing Roxy the opportunity to retort her comment.

The next person in line steps forward and Roxy's heart is a flutter, "Hiya Kevin," he lays the two ID's and two twenties on the counter. Roxy picks them up and doesn't even look at the ID's just wraps them up and places them in the box next to Alice's and Kevin's, "How ya been?"

She hands him back his change and he leaves without a word to her, he refused to be a tool to try and make Alice jealous, not that Alice had anything to worry about when it came to him wanting anything from Roxy. Now that they were both inside the bar Edd and Kevin took in the large crowd that was on the dance floor, "Is everyone here really just like us?" Kevin couldn't believe that there were really this many people in one place that where a part of the LGBTQA+ community, having grown up in a small town it was hard to fathom at times that there really were more people like himself in the world.

"I would say about ninety percent of them are members of the community," Alice answered.

"And the other ten are friends or family," and Kev finished the statement.

Kevin was bouncing on his toes with the beat of the music and looked over at Edd with an excited look upon his face. Edd's expression mirrored his own as he adjusted his glasses on his nose, "Want to dance?" Kevin asked gripping Edd's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, receiving and excited nod in response.

As the two of them made their way into the crowd Alice called after them, "You two be good, we'll be in the drag bar with Eddy if you need us."

Like proud parents they watched them disappear into the crowd, only to get a glimpse of Edd whopping over the crowd as Kevin lifted him up. "You think they'll be alright," Kev asked as he saw Edd disappear once again into the crowd.

"They'll be fine, Kevin's a good kid, he'll keep them safe," she replied as they were joined by the other members of their group. Heading further in they made their way toward the drag bar to find a suitable place to watch the performance, luckily for them there was a table near the stage that would accommodate the six of them. The show starting off with the DJ taking the stage, an older drag queen that Alice remembered from her youth, Anita Fellatio was her name, and Alice was glad that the old girl was still kicking it. Her performance was Eartha Kitt's the day the circus left town dressed in a fancy red ring leader like dress and hat with long feathers coming out of the top of the hat and sash off the side.

When the number was complete she steps to the side of the stage and grabs a microphone then returns to the center as she said, "How yawl queens doing tonight?" The question was met with a thunderous applause and cheers to which she purred into the microphone, "Obviously this is as good for you as it is for me." Walking down the central stairs she addresses the crowd again, "Are there any heterosexuals with us tonight?" Getting a quieter round of applause at this she scans the crowd and finds a hot young man close to her and walks over to him, "Why look at you," she pats him on the shoulder playing coy, "What brings you out tonight stud?"

The man points to his friend next to him and says something not everyone could hear, "Oh your friend drug you here, so what's your name?" Yet again you couldn't hear his response, "Everyone say hi to Chip," and several of the audience did so, and the boy looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole in the ground. Seeing this she pets his shoulder and cooed, "Ah don't be shy, we don't bite, much."

Walking away and blowing Chip a kiss as she did so, she then addressed the crowd once again, "Are there any newbie's in the house, are we popping any of yawls cherries tonight?" Rave grabs Eddy's hand and raises it as he called out to the drag queen getting her attention, sashaying over she takes in Eddy's appearance and starts by running her finger from one shoulder to the other while saying, "I feel like chicken tonight."

Eddy who was normally an attention seeker felt a little overwhelmed by the aura she exuded, sitting upon his lap she ruffled his hair, "Aren't you just the cutest thing, your name doll face?" Eddy answered her with a cracking voice that came out like he was trying to be butch, hearing his reply she mimicked him in the same butch tone saying his name in the microphone. Looking from Alice to Margie she asked, "And which one of you fine ladies is this gayby's mother?" Remembering Alice from the past she wiggles her fingers at her in a hello, and Margie raises her hand and response to Anita's question, "You must be so proud." Seeing Justin sitting next to Eddy she pounces, "And you must be the boyfriend," jumping from Eddy's lap to Justin's, "I could eat you both up, but who am I kidding I would go the way of Mama Cass, death by chicken sandwich." Jumping off Justin's lap she heads back to the stage and introduces the next act, a fine African American queen who knew how to fiercely work the stilettos she was wearing.

Back out on the dance floor Edd and Kevin were working up a sweat as one song blended into the next, giving no pause to the beat that fueled the movement of themselves and those that surrounded them. The floor was so packed with people that all you really had room to do was sway your hips and maybe be able to move your feet and arms within a small circumference around yourself. But with Kevin taking the lead Edd felt like every move was flawless, that they could kick anyone's ass in a dance competition easily, hell they could probably go pro. The truth however is they were just as amateur as everyone around them, but as long as they looked in each other's eyes none of that really mattered, they were on cloud nine right now and nothing could bring them down. They only took an occasional break from dancing to go to the restroom or to go to the bar to get something to drink, where on one visit to the restroom they bumped into Rave who was exiting a stall with Roxy, sniffling and wiping his nose. Clueless as they are to the ways of the world they paid it no mind and continued with their night of frivolity. The night was perfect and they were happy, what a relief it is to be able to dance with the one you love without the judgment of others being cast upon you, to kiss out in the open without the stares. Though things were good at school, and no one was saying anything about them, it still felt like some people were judging them privately, here they didn't get that feeling, here they felt free to be who they are.

But with all good things they must come to an end and before the boys knew it the clock had struck their pumpkin hour and their chariots awaited them. On the way back to Peach creek Eddy and Justin rode with Alice and Kev, while Kevin drove Eddy's car back while holding the hand of his sleeping love. The next day's dinner date with the parents went off without a hitch, though sore and tired Kevin and Edd made a meal that put his mothers cooking to shame. Of course Leslie took the credit for teaching the boys everything they knew in the kitchen, and thus started their tradition of Sunday dinners together.

 **A/N- Sweet baby Jesus that was a lot, I guess once the dam breaks a flood follows. For those that don't know here is some explanation, queen is a term used by gay men to address other gay men, no you don't have to be a drag queen to be called a queen. Chicken refers to young or young looking gay men, so when she said death by a chicken sandwich she meant she would probably die by having a threesome with such young guys. Reading is the term gay men use for verbally chopping away at someone, the best reads are those that leave a person clueless that they were even read, like "love the hair, I hope you win" which translates to Jesus Christ Mary what the hell have you done to your hair that it looks like you've entered a freak show contest.**


	60. Treat You Better

Chapter 60 – 12th Grade – Treat You Better

 **A/N- Just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing a prequel to this fic called Down the Rabbit Hole, it is Alice and Kevin's (R!Kevedd) story and I hope you all will enjoy it.**

It was the evening of the following week after the belated baby shower and Ed was currently in the bathroom making himself presentable. His nerves were on edge as he combed his hair, the tie draped across his shoulders untied, the top button of his dress shirt still open, his black dress pants freshly ironed with a silver chain connecting his wallet that was in his back pocket to his belt. Taking in a deep breath he talked to the reflection in the mirror, "You can do it, just stay calm, his opinion really doesn't matter." But deep down in his gut he hoped he could win over the man that had raised the woman that he loved and is the mother of his child. Honestly he was still angry at him for causing her heart ache only moments after the birth of his child, but if tonight he could bury the hatchet he would. It didn't mean he had to personally like the man, just come to some form of a mutual understanding, and at least a sociable relationship with him. For all the holiday's and birthday's that were in their future, for the sake of his son, so the boy could get to know his Grandparents on his mother's side, he would forgive the man's ill choice of words as long as he could accept their family and the love they had for one another.

Putting the brush down upon the counter he buttons the top button of his shirt and grabs both ends of the tie and tries to line it up properly then tie it the way his father had shown him. Under over under over around and through, and he pulls the knot tight but the back part of the tie was longer then the front. Trying again and the front part was too long, touching his belt, "Angelica, baby, can you help me."

Coming into the bathroom she was wearing her Sunday dress, a black and white striped skirt with black top, instantly seeing his dilemma she takes the tie from him, "Here let me get that." Masterfully putting it around his neck she ties the knot and pulls it tight, folding his collar over it, "There all done."

"Thanks, you're a life saver," he kisses her upon the cheek then turns to sprits a small amount of cologne on as she looked at him adoringly while leaning upon the doorframe with her arms crossed. It made her feel good that Ed was putting this much effort into making a good impression with her father, it was these small acts that assured her that their family would be alright, even without the man's approval.

He looked over to see her staring at him, with a smile upon his face and a little laugh in his voice as he spoke, "What?"

"Nothing," she reaches up and wipes a stray hair off his shoulder, "I'm just thinking that you clean up nicely is all."

The notification on his phone that he had set was telling him it was time to leave so they could be a little early, his nerves were twisting inside his stomach. Silencing the phone he looks into her eyes and feels the turbulent waters of his emotions calm, and at that moment he felt as though there was nothing they could not accomplish as long as they had each other, "Come on we've got to go."

Loading up their precious cargo they made their way to the restaurant where they were to meet her parents. Parking the car a short ways from the entrance they enter Bella Roma, the family owned Italian Restaurant was a little upscale for their budget and they would normally never eat here, but her father insisted upon it. Stepping in the glass doors they were greeted by the hostess and shown to their table, the bar was to the left of the entrance way two steps up from the main floor with a small island like divider tastefully decorated separating it from the dining area. Along the ceiling was white Christmas light wrapped around a wooden beam that gave the room a soft glow with the main lighting dimed, each table was already set to serve with a tea light candle in the center. Over the speaker system Frank Sinatra and other 1950's jazz musicians played at a low volume, giving the restaurant more ambiance.

Sitting at a table meant for four, the hostess brings over an extra chair to place Michael's baby carrier in, Ed rocked it lightly trying to lull the boy to sleep, with the combination of dim lighting and soft music his attempts were working. The water glass in front of Angelica was filled by their server, "What would you like to drink this evening?"

Looking up from her menu she sees Edd leaning in slightly to pick up Big Ed's glass to fill it, wearing a black dress shirt tie and slacks with a warm smile on his face when their eyes meet, "Hey Dee, didn't think you were working tonight."

"Filling in," he sits the glass back down, "So this is where you're meeting your parents then?" She nods slightly, "Alright I'll keep the to-go boxes on standby for you." Taking their drink orders he makes a few suggestions for an appetizer, the couple deciding on the bruschetta, leaving them he places their order and brings out their drinks a moment later.

Ed and Angelica didn't have to wait long before James and Bridget arrived, both parents taking their seats across from them giving the couple a greeting, James barely acknowledging Ed's hello with a head nod and a small hum. His face lighting up however when he saw the sleeping baby in his carrier, reaching over he gently puts his forefinger under the sleeping boys hand, Michael stirred just a little making a quiet fussing sound, "Daddy, we just got him to sleep."

"I raised you darlin, I know how to act around a baby," he replied and she looked toward her mother who just shook her head rolling her eyes slightly.

"James, you'll have plenty of time to get to know your grandson, let the boy sleep," she said in a commanding but soft voice.

He removed his hand, "Alright, alright," and with the stimulus gone Michael quickly fell back to sleep. The bruschetta was served and Edd took the Johnson's drink order while filling their water glasses, giving them a few moments to decide on what they wanted.

Looking over the menu Bridget thought that all the choices sounded so good, but the prices matched the decor of the restaurant. With the appetizer, a salad and a dinner plate the meal could easily run up to $60 to $70 just for two people and that didn't even include desert. "You two order whatever you want, dinner is on us tonight," she pronounced then took a drink of her water.

"Thank you for the offer Ma'am, but I can pay for ours," Ed replies politely to Mrs. Johnson.

Mr. Johnsons clears his throat then speaks, "With what you're making son isn't that going to take your full paycheck, we'll got the check, save your money for more important things."

True a minimum wage job at part time hours didn't give him much money to splurge with, but he wasn't destitute. Taking a breath to calm himself he replies, "I really appreciate your generosity Mr. Johnson but we're fine, I can pay for our meals."

James was about to open his mouth again to argue his point about using his money more productively by purchasing what his grandson needed but was cut off by Angelica, "Would you two quit squabbling over this already, you'll wake the baby." Even though both of them were keeping their voices down Angelica didn't have a problem pulling out the baby trump card.

"James it's alright," Bridget said placing her hand on her husband's forearm, "If he wants to pay, let the man pay."

"Are you all ready to order," Everyone looks up at a smiling Edd who had his pad and pen ready to jot down the information provided, "Or do you need another moment or two?" Angelica and Ed look at her parents who nodded and made a motion for them to go on and order, the interruption was brief but it allowed the mood of the table to settle down just a little.

The four of them sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before James cleared his throat once again, "So Ed, what are your plans for providing my daughter with a stable home?"

"James," Bridget spoke roughly hoping he would get the hint to be polite.

"Pardon me dear if I want to ensure that our daughter isn't living in squalor for the rest of her life."

"I know our start has been a bumpy one," Ed looked over at Angelica who was wearing an apologetic expression on her face for her father's attitude, but her eyes were filled with love for the man she was looking at. Reaching over he takes her hand, "I will do anything I can to make sure my family is taken care of."

"Including selling drugs?"

Snapping his head back to look at Mr. Johnson he does his best to keep his temper in check, "I haven't smoked a joint in ten months, and the time I got caught was the first time I ever sold anyone anything and it was only one joint."

"But the vast majority of those ten months was while you were incarcerated am I correct?" A smug expression playing across his face, his wife's expression was growing more appalled by the second.

"You are sir, but let me assure you that if you wanted to get high in there you could," He took a deep breath once again to calm his nerves, "Do you honestly think that the guards don't make a buck off of the kid's habits in there."

"You mean they were bringing it in?" Mrs. Johnson asked in mild disbelief and Ed nods to her question, "Why didn't you expose what was going on?"

"You don't rat out the keeper of the keys Ma'am, I would have found myself without any privileges, no phone calls, no visitors and I would probably still be in there as well." He looked back to the man who asked the original question, "So no Mr. Johnson I will not be partaking of or selling any weed, my family is too important to me to wind up back in a place like that."

Two wine glasses are placed in front of the Johnson's, "The wine you ordered Signore," Rave uncorked the bottle and poured a small amount into the man's glass for him to sample, to ensure it was what he wanted. Getting an approval he fills both glasses to an acceptable amount then corks the bottle and returns to the kitchen to get a thank you from Edd for defusing the situation just a little.

Ed takes a drink of his soda and steals up his resolve, "What my plans are though is to get a factory job once I turn of age."

"You know most factories go through temp agencies around here, and those jobs are not guaranteed to last."

"I know that," Ed said a little too harshly, "So I am currently looking into a more permanent option of going into a trade."

"What trade?"

"Either welding or becoming an electrician."

"Electrician would probably be a better choice, I hear the pay is good and there is room for growth," Mr. Johnson's expression was starting to soften towards Ed, "And if you play your cards right you could even open up your own business someday."

"I am just looking at one step at a time right now sir, I never considered opening up my own business."

Mr. Johnson takes a drink of his wine and sets the glass back down, keeping two fingers on the base as he spoke, "No your right, it's good to focus on your immediate goal, but the option is there with that trade." As dinner was served and for the next twenty minutes the two men discussed very politely the options open to Ed and his choice of a career, giving Ed an encouraging story about a friend of his in a similar career and his success of opening his own business. The conversation was cut short when Michael started to cry and Ed picked him up to discover he needed changing, excusing himself to the restroom with the diaper bag on his shoulder.

Mrs. Johnson took a drink of her wine then asked her husband, "So James does he pass your ridged standards?"

"Yes, yes, he seems to have a decent head on his shoulders, and we all should be forgiven for our mistakes and allowed a second chance," His wife words from before they left for the restaurant were now spilling from his lips.

"Good, I'm glad you've seen the light dear."

"It's like god said…."

"And I am sure god is smiling down upon you for your kindness and generosity, now eat your meal." She interrupted as she cut a piece off of her Chicken Parmesan. The rest of the evening was filled with a few awkward conversations, as well as a few jokes and shared laughs once the two men started warming up to each other and finally toasting their engagement and best wishes for a happy family. James insisted very politely that he would pay for the meal, finally getting Ed to agree to it when he included that it was his way to apologizes for his behavior. With heartfelt goodbyes from daughter to parents, and a sturdy hand shack from James to Ed, they parted ways that evening, both Bridget and Angelica were now looking forward to planning the upcoming wedding.


	61. True Color's

Chapter 61 – 12th Grade – True Color's

 **A/N- So people understand Eddy's drag name, the first name is homage to the Ab Fab character Edina whose nick name is Eddie and the last name is homage to the fabulous drag queen Divine. The title is a reference to the Cyndi Lauper song not the saying, and though I gave you the outcome to the trial concerning Justin, in reality it is still going on in the current time line. Warnings: Homophobic slurs, stereotyping and stigma.**

Eddy and Justin sat in Alice's apartment that Sunday evening watching several videos on previous years EOY pageants, this way the budding queen could get a feel for how the competitions worked and what to expect when competing. Not that Eddy was going to enter into the Entertainer of the Year right out the gate, but it was good to see what the higher levels had to offer. Rave, Alice and Kevin were in the kitchen preparing dinner as one of the performances started on the tape. A drag queen in a blonde wig, with very Rave like features, was sitting at a vanity with no mirror in the frame facing the audience holding a hair brush like it was an Oscar and lip syncing to the words, "Oh, yes. It was thrilling. I'm so grateful to you all, my wonderful fans who've made me a star."

Then Alice comes out from the right side of the stage and the beginning of the song Hell is for Children starts, "Oh my god Alice is that you," Justin asks and both Alice and Rave come out of the kitchen to take a look.

"Dear god that brings back some memories," Alice says cupping her mouth.

Rave nudges Alice a little with his elbow while looking at the two boys, "We call those the lip sync years." A look of confusion on Eddy and Justin's faces told him they didn't get it, "You'll understand if you keep watching the later videos."

The song comes to a halt and the scene continues to play out, Rave's character on the video says, "Mommie," as Alice takes her position behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alice's character responds motioning toward Rave with both her hands.

"Nothing, Mommie, I was just playing," the look of concern and worry on Rave's face was comical.

"What do you mean, playing? Going through my things? Making fun of me?"

The scene snowballs from there, Alice ripped a scarf from Raves neck, yanks a hair pin out of his hair and throwing it on the table, then brushing his hair roughly while screaming at him the entire time, finally grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting it. Then the music starts up again with the singer screaming hell is for children over and over again as Rave and Alice are on the floor, Alice over Rave banging his head against the floor as she choked him. "Lord I can still feel where my head bounced off that floor a few times," Rave commented while massaging the back of his head.

"I'm sorry sweetie, if I had known I wouldn't have been so rough," Alice smiled weakly at her friend.

"It's alright, all was forgiven," he heads back into the kitchen to put the final touches on his baked ziti before putting it in the oven, "Nothing those shots of bourbon didn't cure." Alice followed behind him to prepare the salad while Kevin prepped the meatballs for cooking.

The next performer was Roxy, who was doing Annie Lennox's Take Me to the River, a guy sat in an office chair acting lifeless facing away from the audience. While she sang and danced around him while swinging the chair around slowly, straddled him seductively at a few points, then closer to the end of the song pulled him off the chair and started rolling him up in an area rug.

Sitting down for dinner forty minutes later, they say a small pray of thanks and dig into their meal, "So," Alice starts as she passes the dish of ziti to Rave, "Did you get any idea for the contest this January?"

"They're all good references on that tape, but I am still clueless," Eddy took a piece of garlic bread and passed the plate to Kevin.

"I don't mind helping you, we just need to nail down what you want to do," Alice began.

"I'll help with choreography," Rave offered.

Alice gave him a smile for his offer, if he hadn't she would of forced him into helping. "We need to decide what music you want, classic, modern or a musical? Do you want to tell a story?"

"You do have a time limit though," Rave adds before taking a bite.

"Well we have already decided we wanted to do something together," Eddy motions between him and Justin, his boyfriend nods and smiles to confirm this as his mouth was full of food.

"Oh a duet that would be wonderful, I've got a couple in mind already you can listen to," she taps the side of her mouth with her forefinger in thought, "From there we can decide on costumes and the dance routine, it might seem like a long way a ways, but those four months will be gone before you know it." The rest of the dinner was spent reminiscing about the good old days between the three adults, with pictures of their youth being shared to the younger generation.

"Damn Alice, you were a wild child," Eddy stated as he looked at a group photo of the six friends leaning against the wall of the school, most of them in a Goth look.

"I had my moments," She replied, feeling a little exposed at the moment, for the photo was one of her before she began her transition. But she also felt happy that she could share her past with them without the fear of judgment or ridicule.

"Kevin you were such a dork back then," Justin adds looking at the one odd ball red head in the group.

"What do you mean, he's still a dork," She pinches his cheek, "But he's my dork."

"I love you to babe," and he leans in for a quick loving kiss, then starts clearing the table by taking her and his plate to the sink. The night ended with much laughter as Rave and Kevin regaled the two of them with the shenanigans of their past, making Alice blush on more than one occasion. Leaving that night at a later hour then they should have, Justin stays the night over at Eddy's, laying in bed together they held each other and reinforced their love for one another with the exchange of deep kisses. Waking up late the next morning the two of them rushed to get ready for the day, walking out of the house as Kevin honked the horn impatiently for his friends.

Seeing Justin with him Kevin leans out of the car window and yells out, "Eddy you dog."

He only got a "Shut up," from Eddy in reply as he opened the car door.

"Under your mothers roof no less," Edd teased once the pair was in the back seat.

"It wasn't like that," Justin said defending Eddy's honor.

"I don't want to hear it," Eddy added, "How many months were you to fucking in your mother's house D?"

"Why I never," Edd clutched his pearls as he spoke, "I am as pure as the day I was born, dear sir."

"Yeah and I am Mother Teresa." With Eddy's last remark the group speed off to get something to eat before their day began. The day went by as normal for the most part, Justin however has for the past few weeks been feeling as though he has been getting a few concerning looks from people in the halls. Whether this was due to his paranoia kicking in over his status and his fears of people at school finding out, or the stress over the trial, he was not sure. Even though his Uncles ex-lover had pleaded no contest, Justin still had to appear in court to give his testimony on what happened, so the court could sentence the man properly.

Unbeknownst to Justin is the hateful ways of some people, having gotten their test back and receiving a negative status, one of Justin's past sex partners, a Todd Jacobson, had decided to make it his duty to inform the rest of the school about Justin a few days ago. Most of the school however, paid the rumor no mind and didn't even take the breathe it required to pass it along, leaving it in the trash where it belonged, so word was slow in getting back to the boys about this development.

They only found out during lunch when a concerned classmate brought it to Edd's attention, apparently Todd was not very pleased with Justin anymore, his anger having time to fester. "Eddy, where's Justin?"

"Getting his lunch, why?"

Looking over to the line the three of them see Justin walking toward them, with Todd and small group of his fellow football teammate's close behind him. Using the trial, Justin quitting the team and their sudden HIV test he had exposed Justin's status to the rest of the team, and that is where it started spreading to the rest of the school. "Hey queer," Todd calls out to Justin, who did his best to ignore him and keep walking toward his boyfriend, "I'm talking to you AIDS fucker."

Stopping he grips the tray in his hands and used all his will power not to swing around and smack the boy with it, "What do you want Todd."

"Why don't you and your AIDS infested friends stay the fuck away from all us normal people."

Justin was pissed now, the trial, his fears of hurting someone and especially someone he loved, now this had blown the top off the bottle he had been putting all his emotions into. Dropping his tray to the floor he spins, Eddy runs over to him and tries to keep him from hitting the boy, "So fucking what I'm a QUEER."

"Come on Justin don't do this," Eddy begged.

"I'm sorry Todd that we had sex and I didn't know I was sick, fight me if it makes you feel better, but it wasn't my fault."

Justin didn't need to go any further for a heavy set line backer by the name of Tyus stands up from the table he was at beside them and turns Todd to face him, "That's enough, Justin doesn't deserve your hate."

Todd stepped back and stumbled over his words, he was dwarfed in size and stature by the African American male who was staring him down, "But he,"

"He what?" Tyus asked roughly, "Did what he felt was right after finding out, quit the team so he didn't accidently get us sick, told you apparently, so you were prepared just in case, from what I see he owned up to it, that's called being a man Todd." Looking around the cafeteria Tyus then asked, "And how many of you fuckers have a problem with Justin here." There were a few calls from the crowded room, but not many, "Now we know who the idiots are," he shook his head in disappointment, "For the rest of you if you stand with Justin now's the time to show your support." To Justin and Eddy's surprise almost all the room got up on their feet to show people like Todd that they would not tolerate his actions anymore, that Justin was still a person regardless of his status or who he slept with.

To Todd's surprise when he left the room, he did so alone, for the few members of the football team who had joined him felt as though they had been lied to and manipulated into their actions. Though it was a little late they apologized to Justin for standing with someone like Todd, for in truth they didn't have all the facts. With a big bear hug from Tyus, Justin joined his friends at their table, feeling a little better about the world as a whole, realizing that you might get support from people in unexpected places and at unexpected times.

 **A/N- A wall is dismantled one stone at a time, so can change be slow and sometimes hard. But like I told someone once before, ripples start with a single drop and a landslide a single stone, so can change begin with a single person or with a single act of kindness.**


	62. Stars Shining Bright Above You

Chapter 62 – 12th Grade – Stars Shining Bright Above You

Edd was at a lose, after paying their bills this month the couple was sorely low on funds and their anniversary date together was this weekend. With so little in the ways of monetary capital at his disposal he was frantically trying to decide what he should do to show his fiancé how special he was to him. Cursing himself for not thinking ahead and buying a gift earlier in the month while they still had the money, but at the same time realizing that they would still be in the same boat if not worse off now. The logical solution to his dilemma was to seek the advice of someone older and wiser, sitting at the kitchen table in his mother's house with a cup of tea in hand he presented her with his predicament. "Well son, gifts are nice, but are not the only way to show your affection," she took a sip of her tea to give herself a moment to think and come up with a few suggestions.

"I know mother," he sighed in frustration stating the obvious wasn't helping him come up with a solution, "It would just be nice to give him something to remember it by."

Edd played with the ring on his left hand as he remembered how good he felt the night Kevin had given it to him and how his heart overflowed with love and happiness when Kevin put it on his hand a few months later, proposing to him in front of the entire school. His mother reaches over and takes his hand, "I know dear but there are other things you can do that are just as special, how about camping and sleeping under the stars? We have that tent down in the basement you two could use."

"I have to work Sunday's lunch shift, so it would mean rushing in the morning to clean up and get home."

"What about Friday night then that would give you all day Saturday to do some hiking or other such nature stuff."

"He has to work Friday night, unfortunately," Edd groaned and slumped in his chair, camping would have been nice, but time wasn't on their side for it.

"How about dinner and a movie then?"

"We do that for our date nights already, this is so frustrating."

"Why don't you go home and talk to your man about this then and stop trying to give your mother a headache with this," she rubbed her temples in frustration. Doing as the woman asked he stands and gives his mother a kiss on the cheek, giving her some appreciation for the help and a quick I love you and he was out the door and off to work. He was unfortunately unable to talk to Kevin at the moment for the red head was already at work and his shift at the restaurant was about to start as well. That evening he arrived home a little before ten and walks in to an empty house as Kevin's shift didn't end until ten, and with the drive home he was due to arrive at about twenty after that is if he didn't stop to get anything along the way. Exhausted from work and having eaten there earlier Edd went ahead and got ready for bed, Uncle Joe likes to take care of his employee's by providing them with a decent sized meal that they would share during each shift.

Climbing under the covers he quickly falls asleep, waking up some time later when Kevin crawls into bed with him, "What time is it?"

"A little after eleven," he responded as he pulled Edd into a cuddle.

"What kept you out so late," Edd said sleepily, he trusted Kevin and knew he had nothing to fear, but he just wanted to be sure that nothing had happened again. Ever since the incident with the truck full of red necks at Kevin's work Edd would worry if he was just a little bit late, for he knows all to well what a hateful person is capable of doing.

"I've been here for a minute babe," Kevin kissed the top of Edd's head as the dork took in a lung full of the fresh clean smell of his skin. "Had to eat and take a shower, unless you want me to go to bed hungry and sweaty."

"No full and clean you is better," Edd nuzzled his face in Kevin's bare chest, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he replied and the both of them fell fast asleep quickly and woke up later then intended the next day, making them rush to get ready for school. The rest of the week was pretty much the same for the two of them, both having picked up a few extra shifts to try and hopefully get a little more financial security in their lives and put a little cushion in their bank account.

But before he knew it and before he had a chance to discuss it with his fiancé, Saturday was here. Edd woke up that morning to a gentle kiss and to breakfast being served to him in bed, eggs toast and beacon with a glass of OJ. They both sat in bed lazily talking to each other about their friends, the upcoming baptism of Michael along with the wedding of Angelica and Ed, which the couple was hoping could be schedule for Valentine's Day of next year. They also discussed Eddy's announcement that he was entering an amateur drag competition and that he needed their help and support, from what he had told them he was going to need their help making the props they were going to be using during their performance. The two of them were happy for the couple, they seemed to be in a good place in their relationship and Justin seemed to be bursting with pride and excitement over Eddy's decision to compete.

After breakfast they took a long shower together expressing their love for one another with wet naked body contact. Nothing to sexual really, just little things like Kevin wrapping his arms around Edd from behind so he could wash his chest and stomach while snatching a quick kiss or Edd admiring Kevin's perfect ass as he scrubbed his back for him, while teasingly rubbing his body against Kevin's well defined torso and backside. Just simple things to express their love, for that damn water would never stay hot long enough for them to take a shower and mess around at the same time. After the shower they cuddled up on the couch together to watch movies on Netflix, but that was quickly forgotten for more pleasant things such as the taste of each other's lips and the feel of the others skin. They had been kissing so much since they had woken up that morning that Edd's lips felt as though he had gotten collagen injected into them and that they felt like they were about to fall off his face. But that didn't stop the smile from crossing them or his desire to continue using them to show the affection he was giving and receiving from the man who held his heart. "I love you Edd," he said as he gave his love and Eskimo kiss.

Edd could feel his heart burst with joy and love for the man that was in his arms, each word that was said, every touch and kiss that was exchanged over this past year was an affirmation of the love they had for one another. Today was the celebration of that love they shared, and a renewal of the promise they made to each other by accepting the love that was given to them by the other. To hold that person above all others and to cherish and honor the heart that was so freely given to them, to protect it and to nurture it, to guide it through the rough times and to celebrate the good. So it was with a happy and loving heart that Edd replied, "I love you too."

After lunch they did manage to watch the movie that they had originally intended on watching in the first place, The 10 Year Plan. Teasing each other during the movie, pointing out the quirks of the two leading men as something the other would do, or a personality trait they shared. Edd was the overly romantic guy who would research his potential date before meeting them and Kevin was the Bromeo since he used to be considered a Casanova in high school. After the movie was over and the playful teasing had subsided the two of them took a short nap on the couch together, holding each other closely until they were woken up by a knock at the door.

Kevin wiping the sleep from his eyes got up and checked the time on his phone, it was almost 6pm, must be the delivery he was expecting. As Edd slowly woke himself up, Kevin opened the door to find Rave on the other side holding a carry out bag in his hands, "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, it's on me," he hands the bag over to Kevin and whispers, "I added a little something extra," he winked at Kevin then headed down the stairs again to return to work.

Closing the door he looks over at Edd who was now sitting up on the couch, "You want to go out for a little bit?"

"Where are we going," Edd asks as he sat up adjusting the beanie on his head.

"You'll see," he hands the take out to Edd, "Can you take that to the car, I've got to grab a few things."

"Sure," Edd stands and heads down the stairs, placing the food in the back seat he sees the tip of a wine bottle poking out of the top. Pulling the bottle slightly up he noticed that it was one of Rave's family wines, their logo of a peach with the words Peach Vineyard written around it printed on the top of the label. Placing it back in the bag he closes the door and takes his seat in the passenger side waiting for Kevin to come down.

Jumping slightly when Kevin knocked at the window, "Need the keys please," he opens the window and passes them through then waits for Kevin to put the few things he brought down into the trunk. Climbing in the driver's seat he kisses his fiancé once again then starts the car, heading off towards their destination. Leaving the city limits they climb Peach Tree hill and begin their trip to the creek as the sun hung low in the sky. Parking the car some fifteen minutes later under the old oak tree they get out and open the trunk, pulling out a blanket and a few pillows for them to lean upon. Handing these items to Edd he asks him to set up the picnic as he heads off into the nearby woods to gather some dry wood to build a small fire. Taking off the gloves he wore once the wood was in place he takes the food out of the backseat and comes to sit down on the blanket beside Edd.

Serving the food which was a healthy portion of chicken fettuccine alfredo with a side of bruschetta, he fills their glasses halfway with the wine and raised it for a toast. "To our first year, and many more to come," they clinked their glasses together and took a drink. Edd has done some drinking in his life but he wasn't expecting the way the wine made his mouth feel dry, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting that."

"Here," Kevin took up a small portion of noodles and chicken and brought it up to Edd's mouth, "Have a bite." Edd took the food offered to him and playfully smiled at Kevin as he slowly pulled back the fork, chewing he found that it had alleviated the sensation the wine had caused in his mouth.

Leaning back they watched the sun set slowly, enjoying the explosion of color as the clouds in the sky turned from yellow to gold then to a fiery red, "It's so pretty," Edd whispered.

"It doesn't compare to you," Kevin replied then kissed him on the temple.

"Flattery might get you everywhere tonight Mr. Barr," Edd chuckled.

Kevin smiled and wagged his brow at him, "So should we skip the main course and go right for desert?"

"No, you have to be a good boy and eat your dinner first," Edd replied feeding him a bite of chicken as Kevin pouted.

As the sun sank lower and the light began to vanish Kevin stood up and lit the fire to bring some illumination to their dinner, and before the light totally escaped them pulled out the final box in the trunk and set it down on the far side of the blanket from the fire. Opening it he began to set up a rather expensive looking telescope, "Where did you get that?" Edd asked, wondering if Kevin had splurged just a little too much on this date, for the darn thing had a GPS locator on it to automatically turn itself in the direction of celestial objects.

"Kev let me borrow it," Kevin said as he turned on the GPS to let it calibrate itself.

"It looks expensive," Edd took another sip of wine.

"Yeah, we definitely don't want to break it," Kevin came back and sat down beside Edd again as the telescope began to turn itself toward its last selected object. Point by point stars started to fill the sky, the small camp fire kept it so they could see each other but did not hinder their view of the night sky. The creek was perfect for seeing the star filled sky, no artificial light to block their view of the stars, the only sounds were of the wind blowing through the trees and the few birds still awake singing in the branches above them. The moon was perched low in the night sky now but was slowly climbing the heavens. Finishing up their meal they cleaned up placing the dirty dishes in the paper bag and the trash in the plastic bag.

Once their mess was cleaned up Kevin takes the GPS control off the telescope, "So what should we look at first?"

"What does it have in there?"

"Well he said it has fifty thousand preprogrammed positions in it, so I'm guessing anything you want to see it's here," Kevin gestured with the control box in his hand.

"That's too much of a choice, you pick something."

"Hmm, ok," fiddling with the controls he quickly remembered how Kev had shown him how to operate it, the motor moved the telescope into position then stopped, "There you go, try that one."

Edd eagerly looked through the eye piece and he could make out a small globe that appeared to have rings around it, "Is that?"

"Saturn," Kevin said looking at the box to make sure it was in fact the one he had selected. Edd took another look and marveled at what he could actually see with this small telescope, moving away he motions for Kevin to take a look. Bending down he peered into the eye piece, "Wow, that's cool," straightening back up, he scrolls through the selections, "I wonder what else we can see." A lot of the selections were marked as unavailable due to the season and position of the earth in relevance to the object.

Finding another he hits it and the telescope moves a little then stops, bending down Edd sees the red planet of Mars very clearly, "Oh my god that's awesome," Edd gasps as he continued to look through the aperture. Kevin smiled broadly at his dork of a fiancé, happy he had made a good choice in asking to borrow Kev's telescope for the night, his heart filled with joy at the smile upon Edd's face.

Edd lifts up to allow Kevin a turn, the red head smiled and gave a small chuckle as he could clearly make out the ice covered top of the planet. Selecting another they wait for the telescope to stop before Edd looks through the eye piece, "Venus, right?"

"Yep," Kevin response.

"The goddess of love," Edd said the last word in his best Isaac Hayes impersonation causing Kevin to laugh at his dork.

Edd allows Kevin his turn, and he asks as he leaned over to look through the eye peice, "I thought that was Aphrodite?"

"They're both the same god, but one is Greek the other is Roman," Edd leans down and nips Kevin's ear and whispers, "But we should hurry home soon, I have some strawberries that need eating, which as I am told are an aphrodisiac."

Kevin looks up and sees the playful smirk upon Edd's face and takes the cue from his fiancé, and in record time breaks down the telescope and places it back into its case. Loading up what was left of their belongings he douses the fire and begins the trip back into town so the two of them could get their desert.


	63. L-O-V-E

Chapter 63 – 12th Grade – L-O-V-E

 **A/N- "L is for the way you look at me, O is for the only one I see, V is very, very extraordinary, E is even more than anyone that you adore can, Love is all that I can give to you, Love is more than just a game for two, Two in love can make it, Take my heart and please don't break it, Love was made for me and you." L-O-V-E Nat King Cole 1965**

Edd laid his head on Kevin's shoulder as he held his hand, their fingers intertwined, as they drove back to their apartment. Only giving him his hand back if the jock needed it for better control around a sharp turn on those curvy country roads, but he would give it back the moment he no longer required it. Edd watched what little bit of the scenery he could pass them by, as the world around them was dark. The only illumination provided for them was coming from the cars headlights and the crescent moon that was perched high in the sky to a back drop of dazzling stars.

Kevin lifts the hand he was holding up to his lips and kisses the back of it affectionately then whispers, "I love you Edd.'

"And I you," he replied as their hands were brought back down into Kevin's lap, caressing each other's thumbs tenderly.

Getting back on the highway they travel toward the main strip to make a quick stop before heading home. Pulling into CVS and parking as close to the door as he could Kevin shuts off the engine and leans over to give Edd a quick kiss, "I'll be right back."

Sitting in the car patiently he begins to flip through the stations on the radio, stopping as he hears the dulcet tones of Nat King Cole coming through the speakers singing L-O-V-E. Patting his hand against his knee with the beat and quietly singing along with the words he didn't notice Kevin until he was snapped back into reality when the door was opened. Hopping back into the car he throws a small plastic bag into the back seat and kisses Edd passionately as the song continued to play in the background. Breaking the kiss he smiles warmly as his loving green eyes stared into adoring blue's as the last line of the song, "Love was made for me and you," was belted out in glorious fashion.

Starting the car he backs up out of the parking space as Fever by Peggy Lee starts to play and Edd turns the radio down a little then reaches in the back seat for the plastic bag, "What did you buy?"

Edd pulls the bag out of the seat and into his lap and when he opens it he gets his answer as a box of condoms and a bottle of lube greets him, "I just remembered that we were out."

Edd put the bag on the floorboard in front of him as Kevin pulled the car out of the parking lot and back onto the main road, "Cool," he meekly replied.

Fifteen minutes later and they are stumbling into their home, flinging the door open as they desperately sought more contact from the other, lips, hands, and bodies were all being used to satisfy this need. Kevin kicked the door shut with his foot as one hands was busy sliding up the back of Edd's shirt while the other was sliding his beanie off as he ran his fingers through the back of his hair, Edd's arms wrapped tenderly around his neck. "Why don't you," their lips dance with each other as they both breathed heavily with excitement, "Get those," a gasp of pleaser as Edd gently nips his bottom lip then sucks upon it.

"Strawberries," Edd lightly chuckles through his words, "I'll be right back, stud." Sliding his hands down the front of Kevin's shirt as he took a step back with a playful grin upon his face, he turns toward the kitchen and Kevin hurries toward the bedroom to get ready. Walking into that room only a few moments later carrying the small basket of strawberries he finds Kevin laying on the bed seductively, clad only in his boxers briefs, "Damn Kevin, you already unwrapped my present for me," Edd pouts with a mock crestfallen expression upon his face.

"Sorry babe, but there is still a little bit of wrapping left for you," he snaps the elastic waistband of his underwear with a pop. Sitting the basket on the bedside table beside the box of condoms Edd stands at the edge of the bed as Kevin gets up into a kneeling position and cradles his face in the palms of his hands and kisses him sweetly. Edd reaches up and takes Kevin's hand and directs it down the front of his shirt, sliding his palm along his chest and stomach to the hem of his shirt, it was time for Kevin to unwrap his present. Pulling the unwanted garment off and depositing it upon the floor he returns his attention to Edd's neck as he thumbed his left nipple lazily while his other hand made its way down his back. Edd moaned at the rough sensation of his beard against his skin that was mixed with the soft moist touch of his lips, his arms tightening their hold upon Kevin's shoulders. He gasped softly as Kevin added a little bit of suction to the kiss, leaving a dark mark where his neck met his collarbone. Stopping his vampiric like kiss, he leans back to admire his work for a moment, then kisses it quickly before looking up into his fiancé's eyes with a playful smirk upon his lips.

Edd rolls his eyes as to say, really you had to give me a hickey and Kevin pouts, Edd chuckles softly as he shakes his head at Kevin's pouting then gently pushes him back to direct him to lay down. Shimming his pants off quickly, he reaches over for the basket of fruit then crawls onto to the bed, putting the basket down by the pillows. Licking his way up Kevin's stomach, he starts at the treasure trail and follows the ridge of his six pack up to his chest, teasing a nipple as he made his way to his neck, straddling Kevin's hips as he playfully nipped his neck.

Sitting up he takes a berry from the basket and brings it up to his lips, teasingly sliding it along the edge of his lip before taking it into his mouth and biting into it, sucking on the tip seductively. Kevin watched this display as he admiringly slides his hand down Edd's chest and stomach to come to rest upon his cock. He kneaded that stiff piece of meat through his tight underwear, as Edd's hips rock slowly, sliding along the length of Kevin's engorged prick. Swallowing the bit of fruit that was in his mouth he leans down to share the flavor with Kevin who relished the taste of the sweet berry upon his tongue as they kissed deeply, savoring each other's love.

Sliding the berry across Kevin's lips, the red head takes a bit enjoying the taste, but craving more of Edd's upon his lips. Reaching up he pulls Edd down and devours his lips as he rolls them over so he is on top, grabbing a berry he bites the tip and suck upon it a little bringing the juices out. Rubbing it in a circle around Edd's right nipple, he watched as the bud perked up with the contact and began to glisten with the juice of the berry. Sliding down he sucks up that sweet nectar, nipping at the flesh, causing Edd to twitch at the sensation while he crushed the berry between his fingers as he slid it across Edd's bottom rib, lapping up that juice and sucking up what pulp had fallen. Working his way down he gently nibbles upon Edd's erect cock through his underwear, mouthing it while massaging his balls. Pulling back that last bit of clothing he freed him, quickly swallowing him whole as Edd took a handful of his hair as pleasure surged through his body.

Repositioning himself he brought his hips up toward Edd's face while sliding the underwear off his fiancé. Edd wasted no time in returning the favor, pulling the underwear off him, he squeezes Kevin's ass as he downs his cock, enjoying the view as his balls tightened and then relaxed with each stroke of his mouth. The sweet moans they were producing with their full mouths was music to their ears, spurring each of them on to try and make the other squirm with pleasure. He could taste the salty sweet flavor of pre-cum as Kevin spread Edd's legs apart to start licking his way past his balls and along his taint to feast upon his hole, rolling over on his back again, he pulls the smaller man on top of him.

Edd leans back and gasps for air, Kevin was enjoying the view as two perfect ass checks were in his face, he looks up along his fiancé's glistening back as Edd's head leans back while he moaned out his name. Returning his attention back to Kevin, he licks along the V cut in his hips before sucking his cock back up into his mouth. Rolling his tongue as he slowly inched his way down Kevin's shaft, paying close attention to the head of his cock, "Oh God Edd,' he moaned out as his head fell back, "You're going to make me cum."

Coming of his cock he slowly stroked it with his right hand as he looked over his left shoulder and giggled, "We can't have that now can we." Sliding off him, he repositions himself so he was once again straddling Kevin's hips, kissing him deeply as he rocked his hips slowly, rubbing their erect cocks together, their pre-cum lubing each other up. Kevin massaged Edd's ass while the kiss became more frantic, fueled by the fire in his loins that was being stocked by Edd's touch. Breaking the kiss Kevin turns his head as he reached for the box of condoms and the bottle of lube, Edd looks in that direction to see what Kevin was reaching for. Being on top he reaches over and gets the lube but takes Kevin's hand, "We don't have to use those if you don't want to," Edd said shyly.

Kevin had a puzzled look on his face as he searched Edd's eyes for certainty, "Are you sure?" He asked as he brought the box to sit next to him on the bed. He would be happy using protection for the rest of his life as long as Edd was the one in his arms. There would never be anyone else in this world whose hand would fit his so perfectly, whose lips would taste as sweet or whose smile could brighten his day. The world felt right with Edd in his arms, he felt whole and complete, the other half of his soul now lay in his arms, staring into his eyes.

Edd nods, "I trust you Kevin," he was now kind of nervous after making this suggestion. He didn't want to push Kevin into it, but he knew that their relationship was just as valid as anyone else's, and that they could make this choice if they wanted to. "You are the water that quenches my thirst and the fire that warms me," he sputtered with his words for a moment, burying his face in Kevin's shoulder he said meekly, "Forget it, it sounded better in my head."

"I know what you're trying to say Edd, and you are my heart," he coaxes Edd into turning his face toward him and kisses gently to emphasis this point, "I'm alright with it if you're alright with it."

"I'm the one who brought it up," Edd still looked nervous though and felt he needed to justify his thoughts. "I mean we have both tested negative, we are in a monogamous relationship and have been together for a year now, so I just thought that we could make this choice and not have to feel guilty about it."

"I'm not going to make you feel guilty about it Edd, and it's nobody else's business anyway," he brought their foreheads together, "I just don't want you making this choice feeling pressured into it, I'm fine either way."

"I don't feel pressured, you have never once asked for it, I just thought we could do this to bring our love closer together," Edd looks away slightly embarrassed with how he was putting it into words, "And be more intimate with each other."

Putting the box of condoms on his chest, "I understand Edd," a deep kiss, "You tell me what you want to do," he taps the box with his fingers, "And I'll be fine with either choice. The most important thing to me right now is that you're here with me," another deep kiss. Breaking the kiss Edd leans back and takes the box out of Kevin's hands and tosses it into the nearby trashcan, looking down at Kevin who just cocked a brow at him, "You know we could have donated those to Eddy."

"They're still in the box, we can fish them out later, now come here." Attacking his fiancé's lips they stoke the flames of their desires anew with passionate kisses and gentle bite marks.

Biting Edd's ear Kevin groans out, "I want you inside me Edd." He leans back and looks into Kevin's eyes which were filled with a desire for him, cocking a brow at him in curiosity. "I trust you Edd," Kevin rolls over and grabs the lube, handing it to Edd as he turned back to face him once again. Edd pours a generous amount of the water based lubricant onto the tips of his fingers, slicking them up before proceeding to prep Kevin. The jock continued his attention to his cock as Edd went to work, lapping up his pre-cum like sweet nectar before swallowing him whole again. Edd slipped one finger in then worked the muscles loose before adding a second then a third, feeling that he was ready Kevin comes off of Edd's dick and whispers in a husky, needy voice, "Make love to me Edd."

Positioning himself he puts his arms behind the man's knee's, hosting his hips up off the mattress, Kevin takes Edd's cock in his hand, assisting him by lining it up with his hole, then giving Edd a nod to let him know that he was ready. Pushing in slowly he was enveloped by the warmth of the man he loved, by the one who had stolen his heart and now treasured it above all else in this world. Leaning in, their bruised lips clashed once again, pouring their love into one another as Edd slowly hilted himself inside of Kevin. Once all the way inside, he stared into those green eyes as their lips barely touched each other as Kevin let out a groan then kissed him softly.

Waiting for Kevin to let him know, "I'm fine," he panted, "You can move," and slowly Edd began to pull out, allowing Kevin to adjust to the movement of his hips before pushing back in at a steady pace. This wasn't rough animalistic sex, this was love making, the expression of one's tender and caring feelings for the other made physical. It was a bond of trust, joy, love and happiness, a physical manifestation of the joining of their hearts.

Releasing his arms from behind Kevin's knees he wraps them around him and pulls them both up into a sitting position allowing Kevin to take control of the movement. Putting his arms around Edd's neck he kept the speed at the easy pace it had been, expressing his love with each kiss of their lips, each move of his hips and each gasp for air as Edd stroked his cock to the same pace of his hips. Breaking their kiss Edd's breathing had become erratic and labored, his lips brushing against Edd's as he spoke, "Cum for me Edd," another sweet kiss as Edd moaned through it, "That's it babe, cum for me."

Muttering Gods praises under his breath as the coil tightened even further, ending with a crescendo of "HOLY SHIT," as his seed spilled deep within Kevin. The jock continued to buck his hips riding out Edd's orgasm, while thrusting his own cock in the dorks hands which had stopped moving when his mind went blank with pleasure, spilling his spunk all over Edd's bare chest while screaming his name.

Edd collapsed backwards followed quickly by Kevin who was lying upon his bare and spunk covered chest, taking in a deep breath he hummed out, "God that was good."

Ruffling Kevin's hair he kissed the top of his head and hummed his agreement, neither one of them wanted to move as they basked in their post orgasmic bliss. But gravity has a certain effect on liquid things, and that thing was threatening to spill itself upon their sheets. Taking a quick shower, and drying off the lovers fell back into bed to commence round two, needless to say their upstairs neighbors were thankful when the two of them had finally decided to go to sleep. Edd and Kevin were thankful to have this love in their lives, to be able to fall asleep in each other's arms, safe and secure in the knowledge that they held each other's hearts.


	64. Mother

Chapter 64 – 12th Grade – Mother

September was over and October was well on its way, despite Justin's statues being made public, no one in the school was treating him any differently since the showdown in the lunchroom. Several people, including Kevin, made sure that Todd knew his place concerning him, and what would happen to him if anything bad should happen to Justin. No one in the school wanted a repeat of the hatred and pain that Nazz had caused the previous year, and were doing what they could to ensure everyone's safety.

In their third floor loft apartment Alice was showing Eddy the finer points of ballroom dancing, under the tutelage of Rave who was teaching Justin's by being his partner for the lesson. As the four of them danced to the music Eddy had selected for his song, Kev was busy sowing the ornate shoulder pads onto Justin's costume. Wondering how he got roped into playing the father of Justin's character for Eddy's performance, why couldn't Kevin or Edd do it? "Is my prince still sulking?" Alice asked Kev as she slowed the pace of the dance to look at him better.

He grumbled a little bit before replying, "Explain to me why I have to be a part of this again." Don't get him wrong he was happy to help, he just wasn't much for getting up on stage in front of people, especially in front of a group of shady queens.

"Because you will make for a much more convincing father then the two downstairs," she said as she spun her head around to look at him again as they turned following the dance steps.

"Now you're making me sound old," he pouted, returning his concentration back to the needlework in front of him.

"Sorry to have to tell you this dear, but you are getting older, as am I, but you're still the sexiest man alive in my opinion." She could see the blush cross his cheeks and a smile smile dart across his face for a moment as he paused in his sowing, then returning to his work.

"Well," Rave calls to him, "At least you don't have to dress up as one of the ugly stepsister."

"Decision everywhere I turn," Alice huffed.

"I liked the suggestion," Eddy said to reassure her that he liked her idea for the visual theme. The group of them brainstormed a week and a half ago on the topic, agreeing that using the theme from the original movie the music had come from would be to cliché. Each one of them made a suggestion, but all of them had originally agreed that Alice's was the best choice for the performance, that is until what parts they had to play were handed out.

"See Rave, Eddy likes the idea," She smiled at her friend then stuck her tongue out at him.

"She would," Rave replied in a snarky voice, "Only because she gets to be the pretty one."

"Sounds like someone's jealous," Justin said as he continued to count out the steps in his head.

"Darling, I have always stood center stage, and am only graciously stepping aside for your lover." He replied as he put on a faux expression of snobbery, "So you will have to excuse me if I want to be a little more presentable then what Alice is suggesting."

"Sorry darling but it is the only role available to an actor of your caliber," Alice called over her shoulder.

"I could do the stepmother."

"Sorry taken," she replied with a giggle.

"By you natural," Rave huffed.

"Naturally," she smirked, "And I chose you to do that part because you're a capable actor who will have to help Edd out with his part, who by the way was gracious enough to agree to be the second stepsister."

"And what about Kevin, why can't he play the other sister?"

"Because he will be playing the advisor to the king and the guard who escorts me off the stage, seeing how the only difference in the costumes is the addition of a hat, and he fits those rolls better." She wasn't one for begging, but sometimes you have to play to Rave's personality, and with a pouting face she mildly begged, "Please, won't you do it for us, you're the only one who can."

"Fine, since you asked so nicely, I am sure I can lend you my acting prowess for this event, not to mention poor Edd will be lost without me." Bulls-eye for Alice.

Alice's cellphone begins to ring on the table next to Kev, the red head looks down to see who the caller ID said it was, "Honey, it's Jasmine." Picking up the phone he answers it, "Hey Jazz," hearing the distress in her voice as she asked for Alice, "Yeah just a second," and he hands the phone off to her, a worried look in his eyes.

Alice took the phone and looks at Kev for a second before bringing it up to her ear, "Hey sis, what's up?" They could see her concentrating on the conversation intently, "Slow down Jazz, I can barely understand you." A few more seconds went by as Alice's face started to change to one of worry, "Is she alright? Where is she now? Ok, we're on our way, wait for us there." Ending the call, she turns to her friends and husband, in truth her family, with a concerned look in her eyes which were slowly starting to fill with tears, "It's mother."

Rave's face was filled with concern as he asked, "Is she alright?"

"She's in the hospital," She looked around her for a moment then went into action, grabbing her purse and jacket, Kev quickly on her heels getting ready himself, "Jazz didn't want to tell me much over the phone, just that I needed to get down there."

Eddy looked at her with sad eyes, "Do you want us to come with you?"

"No, but thank you," grabbing the keys off the hook, "We'll see you in a few days, Rave help them until we get back."

"Sure," he replied solemnly.

The trip down to Summerville couldn't go by fast enough for Alice, every second was filled with worry over what her mother's condition could be. This was the woman who had given her away at her wedding, even though she was already suffering from cancer. Decades of smoking had caught up to her, first it was the oxygen tank then the cancer diagnosis, but all in all her mother had reassured her that everything was going smoothly with her treatments every time they talked on the phone. Telling her not to worry that she had her sisters to take care of her, that there was no need for her to come down and look after her, to enjoy her married life and let that man of hers treat her like a queen. Now she couldn't help but wonder how much the woman had been keeping from her, how much she had feigned health whenever they talked, how many times she had lied to her when she told her she was doing well.

Though Kevin was in a rush to get there, he had to constantly remind himself to keep it at or near the speed limit, so they wouldn't have to be delayed by a cop giving them a ticket. This woman was important to him as well, she had been so much to the both of them over the years, guiding and teaching them to be proud of who they were. To love themselves, for no one else could do that for them, and each other by accepting the love that they were given.

Pulling into the hospital an hour and twenty minutes after receiving the call, they parked quickly in the visitor parking lot and rushed into the entrance. Finding someone at the front desk they ask for the room that her mother was in and being told it was on the fourth floor room 402. Quickly jogging down the hall they reach the elevator, she nervously tapped her foot as they waited for it and as they rode it up. Exiting the lift, they made their way the short distance to the room finding Jasmine waiting for them inside with two of her other sisters. Standing, the Asian American woman walks toward them quickly and closes the door behind her when she stepped out into the hall, Alice's imploring look told her she need to spill all she knew. "It's not good," she said stalling for time to find a way to tell her what she knew.

"How bad?"

"The doctors have given her less than a month to live," Jasmine's sad eyes told the tale that she had been crying for quite some time.

Alice's tears where hard to contain at that moment and spilled out onto her cheeks, "Why didn't you all tell me she was getting worse."

Jasmine's voice was cracking as she spoke her eyes beginning to fill with new tears as she saw her sisters pain, "She didn't want to worry you, said you had your own life to live, and that it was in god's hands now." Looking Alice in the eyes she meekly said, "I'm sorry for not telling you."

"I forgive you, you were only doing what she wished," Alice brushed away the tears upon Jasmine's cheek before attending to her own. "Is she awake? Can I see her?"

"I think she's awake, but heavily drugged," she opens the door to the room and steps aside for them to enter.

Walking up to the bed she hugs her other two sisters and looks to the person who was lying in the bed, the elderly African American woman was thinning as the effects of the disease had wreaked havoc upon her body. Her once voluptuous figure was now a mere shadow of her former glory when she led her house to prestige. The oxygen mask over her mouth was fogging over as her shallow breathes were expelled from her lungs, her eyes half lidded as the pain medicine was trying to force her to sleep. Seeing Alice at the foot of the bed she raises her shaking and weak hand to beckon her to her, speaking in a weak and rasping voice, "Hey their sweet heart, I'm glad you could come visit."

Alice takes a few steps forward and takes the hand offered to her, leaning down to kiss her forehead, "Hey momma," she sniffles, "How are you feeling."

"Oh don't worry about me, I'll be right as rain before you know it," Alice had to turn her head away from the woman to wipe a tear from her cheek.

Turning back around to face her, "Yeah, then I'll take you out to that Mexican restaurant you always liked."

"Dear god girl, are you trying to kill me with heart burn," The woman coughs harshly trying to lift her mask and roll over in the bed, Alice helping her roll on to her side.

Once the coughing subsided she picked up the conversation where it left off, "You know you don't have to eat anything spicy momma."

"I know, but you only live once, so why pass up on things you enjoy," She smiled weakly but warmly at her. Feeling the medicine kicking in she knew she didn't have much time before her eyes would close for the night, she looked to the other girls in the room, "Could you please leave us, I need to talk to your sister alone." Waiting a few moments, she listened for the door to close, then pats the side of the bed for Alice to take a seat beside her, "I wanted to know how you felt about taking up the mantle of house mother."

Stammering for a few moments she finally said, "I'm honored momma, but I live too far away to be of any use to these girls."

"A house can change, but home is where the heart is, where love and your family are," her grip upon Alice's hand tightened slightly. "God knows I don't make this request lightly, because I really wanted you to have your own life once you started seeing Kevin. But these girls need guidance, the newer generation most of all, and I know that you're a kind and caring person with a firm and guiding hand."

"I don't know about all that," she didn't want to have this conversation right now. Mostly because she didn't want this great woman to leave this world, though she knew there was nothing she could do to prevent it if god called her.

"You're too modest child, I know that you will be a great mother to these children, you just have to believe in yourself."

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure, take your time, but not too much though, I won't be long for this world." She releases her hand and beckons for Kevin, "You help her make the right choice, you hear, don't make this choice because I ask it of you, but because it's the right choice for the two of you."

"Yes ma'am, I'll do my best," Kevin gently squeezed her hand, it felt so frail to the touch that he was afraid he would break it if he applied to much pressure.

"Your sister's know my wishes and will respect them, if you choose not to take up the mantle then I might need you to choose a successor for me," her eyes begin to flutter as she was fighting sleep, "Incase, I, can't, do it, for myself." She was asleep, the morphine had knocked her out and sent her into a painless sleep.

Ms. Ritta Divine had always been a fighter in life, standing up for her children against a cruel world that wanted nothing to do with transgender youth. Defending them as best she could against the hurtful words that were flung at them, tending to wounds that were caused by ignorance and cruelty. Guiding them on how to take better care of themselves and each other, and how to stand up for what was right and to help those in need like a good Christian should. Her fighting spirit had helped her last against this disease for many years, and now Alice had a hard choice to make and a big role to fill, if she chose to take it, for how could she possible hope to be half the woman her mother had been.


	65. This is Halloween

Chapter 65 – 12th Grade – This is Halloween

 **A/N- I do not own any of the characters that are about to be portrayed as costumes in this chapter. I would like to say which ones but that would ruin the surprise.**

Over the course of the month Alice made several trips down to Summerville to visit her mother in the hospital. Taking time off of work to spend as much time as she could with her, which didn't sit well with her boss, since she was not related to Ritta by blood or adoption. Each talk he had with her on this subject was only making her choices easier, as it was loosening her ties to this town. Her only other concern would be the lease on her and Kev's apartment, she only needed to talk to Rave about that. During these visits to the hospital they discussed a great many things, besides the usual pleasantries, they talked about her mother's wishes for the future, as well as giving Alice a few more pieces of advice on being a good mother. On October fifteenth that great woman passed from this world to take her rightful place at God's table and to watch over her children from above. Two days later her ashes were placed upon the mantel in her home, her will to be read the following day. The day after that Alice quit her job and Rave signed a lease to sublet their apartment, he was scheduled to move in at the beginning of the next month.

Saturday October twenty-ninth at 4pm, Kevin answered the door as someone was knocking on it incessantly, "Yeah."

"Are you guys ready yet, we're going to be late?" Alice asked as she stood in the door dressed up as a vampire. Her cape was connected to a choker around her neck that flowed down her back and was attached to her wrists. She wore leather thigh high stiletto boots, fishnet stalking and a black leather corset that showed off her cleavage beautifully. Kev walked behind her to continue down the stairs, done up as the wolf man, in a red flannel shirt and ripped jeans.

"Yeah, we were just waiting on you," Kevin responded as he grabbed his jacket and Edd came up behind him without his beanie on.

Looking them over she cocks a brow, "And who are you guys supposed to be?" Kevin was wearing a green jacket with a white hood, a white shirt underneath it with blue trim around the collar and loose fitting blue jeans. He had also shaven his beard off and dyed his hair a dark brown. Edd was wearing a red jacket, it was the closest he could find to what he needed, black fingerless gloves, blue t-shirt and black denim jeans.

"You're not going to at least take a guess," Kevin said as Alice just continued to look at them with a puzzled look. "Ok, ok here's your clue," he looked at Edd, "Ready babe?" Edd nods and smiles then folds his arms, "I say Vol and you say tron, Vol."

Edd responds "Uh, Voltron."

"Dorks," Alice said flatly.

"What? It's Klance," Edd said kind of put off by her response.

"They're not canon," she waved them off, Kevin and Edd look at each other and blinked a few times, she turns and starts walking down the stairs.

Kevin steps out of the apartment and follows her down the steps as Edd locked the door, "I blame Angelica and Tumblr for this."

She reaches the bottom of the stairs and before opening the door she turns her head toward him, "You enjoy them don't you?"

"Yeah."

She pats him on the cheek, "Then that's all that matters," she opens the door and walks through, "And here I thought you would know when I was picking on you, pumpkin." She opens her cars passenger door, "Also, just for the record, I'm quite partial to Drarry myself," she smiles at them then climbs into the car and closes the door

Edd and Kevin loaded up into their car and led the way to pick up their friends at Big Ed's house, Ed's parents had agreed to babysit Michael for the evening so the couple could have a night out with their friends. Parking out front Edd goes to the door and knocks, getting a shock when the door opened, "Angie, your hair."

"What I like it," she said as she pulled on a few locks of her hair. She had cut her hair short and dyed it black, she was also wearing a pair of fake glasses, a tracksuit with a blue top and black pants. Ed followed her out the door, he had dyed his hair silver and was also wear a tracksuit with red and white top and red pants. She looked Edd over from head to toe, "Love the costume darling, let me guess Kevin is Lance, right."

"Yeah."

"Klance, love it," she walked past him and toward the cars.

Turning to Ed he asks, "And who are you guys supposed to be."

Ed gave him a side glance as he stepped to the side to let Edina and Justin out of the door, "I can't believe I know about this and you don't." Edd shrugged and the four of them turned to follow Angelica toward the cars

Edina was wearing a frilly black dress, red hooded cap and a pair of black suede ankle boots, Justin was wearing tight blue jeans, black leather chaps, a pair of cowboy boots and no shirt, he was showing off his well-defined hairy chest. "So I take it he's the big bad wolf," Edd mused as he pointed his thumb at Justin.

Edina gave her friend a big smile and was about to comment when Alice opened up the car door and called out, "YURI," and hugged Angelica, "You precious little marshmallow."

"I know right," Angelica fangirled along with her, "That first episode."

"That bod."

"That ass," and they both let out a sigh of ecstasy.

"Come on, aren't we already going to be late," Edd said flatly as he walked by them to the car.

"Someone's a party pooper," Angelica said through pursed lips.

"Don't mind him," Alice said as she escorted her toward her car, then called out to Edd, "He's just upset that his pairings not canon." Justin opened the rear passenger side door of Edd's car for Edina and helped her in, then went around to the other side to get in himself.

Now following Alice's car, they made their way out of town and began the hour long trip toward Summerville, hitting the interstate they crossed over the river to enter the city. Exiting onto an off ramp immediately after crossing, they hit another interstate that took them toward the west side of the city. Pulling into the driveway of a humble but well maintained two story home some twenty minutes later. Getting out of the cars, they entered the home from the back entrance to be greeted by Rave in a frantic state, "Sure took you bitches long enough to get here."

"Calm down Rave," Alice replied soothingly, "What's the matter?"

He was behind the L shaped kitchen islander, in a hurry to put the finishing touches on a few things he had prepared as finger food for the evening, then stopped to look in her direction. "I don't know, it's nearly six, nothings been set up yet, the guests are due at seven, I haven't even started getting into my costume and I thought you were going to be here before now to help."

"I'm sorry sweetie, but it took us longer than expected," she put her hand on his shoulder, "where would you like us to start?"

He started barking out orders on what needed to be done, setting up the food and drinks in the dining room buffet style, removing any breakables and valuables and taking them upstairs to the attic. Setting up a smoking area out on the side porch, and to set up a few tables down in the basement for those that wanted to escape the crowed they were hoping to have in the house tonight. "Do you all got that," he looked at each of them with an expression of annoyance, "Alright, I'll be upstairs getting ready if you need me."

He took off his apron and turned to head into the hall and up the stairs, Kev catches up to him in the hall and stops him with a hand on his shoulder, "Hey Rave," the man looks at him with an expression still filled with annoyance. "We're sorry for being late, but could you take it down a peg, she's still having a hard time, you know."

"Fine," he huffed, "I'm sorry for losing my cool," he ended the conversation and turns to head up the stairs.

The houses lay out was simple, the front door led into a hallway that connected to both the kitchen and living room, with the stairs running along the right wall. To the left of the entrance was the living room that had two doors leading off it, the one on the far wall from the hall led to the screened in side porch. The door on the right wall led to the dining room and that room also connected to the kitchen with a door on its right wall as well. In the kitchen was the door to the basement, built into the wall right next to the breakfast nook. Upstairs was the bathroom and three bedrooms along with a fifth door that had the stairs that led to the attic.

The group hurried and finished with the preparations while Rave changed into his costume, his annoyance had subsided when he came walking back down the stairs, but he seemed a little more excitable now. He was dressed in a black tux, and half a plastic white face mask covering the right side of his face, the perfect phantom of the opera in all their opinions. Alice notices something and comes over to him to wipe it off from under his nose, "We need to have a talk later," she whispered to him as the first guest arrived at ten till seven. She had wondered what had been taking him so long to get ready, now she had her answer and a load of questions to ask, along with a few choice words for him.

His eyes opened wide, knowing that she had discovered his little secret, damn it he was sure he had cleaned up all the evidence. He was not looking forward to this conversation, "Yes Mommy Dearest," his tone was a bit on the snarky side.

With the last of the guests arriving fashionably late at 7:40, Alice waited another twenty minutes to allow everyone to say their hello's and mingle. Edd and Kevin walked through the crowd admiring some of their costumes and along the way made the acquaintance of Alice's three sisters. Jazz who was dressed as Maleficent, Kim who was dressed as Harley Quinn in her jester outfit and Tina who was dressed as Tina Turner. Yet again having to explain their own costumes to the trio, even having to go as far as to explain what fanfiction was.

At eight o'clock Alice taps the side of her half full wine glass, drawing the attention of all those in attendance. "Thank you all for coming," she begins then swallows the lump in her throat, "I'm honored to host you all, this evening, here at our mother's home. Ritta JoAnne Divine was a wonderful woman, who helped most of us here in one way or another," she turns to the side and places her hand on the mantel in front of the urn. "She gave us a warm bed and a hot meal when others cast us aside, a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear when the world was cruel and unforgiving," dropping her hand and her head she turns back to face them. "A gentle hand to lift us up and sound advice to steer us in the right direction," a single tear falls down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to turn this into a eulogy. I actually wanted to announce that Kevin and I are looking into making this home a shelter for abandoned children of the community, in memory of all that our mother has done for us." With a determined look she continues, "We plan to house and feed these wayward children, to help them secure jobs or to continue their education, so that they can become pillars of the community just as our mother had done for us. With this however comes the cost of running it, so once we have ironed out all the details we are planning to host a charity event." She looks around the crowd as a few of them started talking excitedly, could she be planning a ball they wondered. "I hope that we can count on all of your support for this endeavor, so that we can make it a success. Once again we thank you for coming and hope you enjoy yourselves this evening." The crowd broke out into applause at the end of her address and her three sisters came up to her to voice their approval that their mother's legacy would live on in this house.

She talked with the three of them for another thirty minutes as the crowd around them was boisterous with conversation and laughter. Excusing herself to go on the hunt for a certain inebriated actor that needed a piece of her mind, finding Edd and Kevin by the stairs she asks them if they had seen him. Edd replied to her inquiry, "I think I saw him head down into the basement a few minutes ago," he points in the direction of the kitchen.

Going into the kitchen she opens the door and slowly walks down the stairs, hearing him laughing and talking to a few of the other party goers, the stench of a joint coming up the stairs to meet her. Reaching the bottom of the stairs she looks at the four individuals sitting at the table and addresses the other three, "Do you mind giving me a moment alone with my friend?"

The three of them looked like children who had just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar, "Sure," one of them said as they all stood up to leave. Sitting down next to her friend she holds out her hand and makes a beckoning motion with her fingers. Reaching into his front pants pocket he pulls something out and puts it into her hand, she examines the object and sees that it is a small glass vial with a plastic dispenser on top. The vial was half full with the white powdery drug he had been using.

"Is that all?"

"Yes," he looked like a scolded dog.

"How long have you been using?" He didn't reply but sat there wondering why someone his age had to answer to anybody, "Rave, answer me."

"Five years," he whispered dejectedly.

"Well it ends now," she stands up and walks over to the wash basin in the corner and dumps the contents of the vial down the drain.

Rave stands and rushes to where she was, "What are you doing, do you know how much that cost?"

"I don't care, you're done with this shit."

He watched as the last bit of the powder dissolves into the water and gets washed down the drain, "That was a hundred dollars you just flushed down the drain."

"A hundred, Jesus Rave," she put her hand to her forehead, "Who's selling it to you? Roxy?" He didn't respond again but the look in his eyes told her that she had hit the nail on the head, "That fucking bitch." She paced a few times as she spoke, "You know she's only doing it so she can mooch off you, she sees you as nothing more than a free party, you understand me," she stopped and face him, and the look in her eyes was one of anger and concern.

"I don't do it that often Alice," he was pleading with her for understanding, "Just a little fun every now and then."

"Like how we didn't smoke pot that often when we were kids, hmm," she wasn't hearing none of his excuses. "I swear Rave, you are not going to make me pay the rent for both up here and down there, so help me god I will bring your uncle on-board."

"Please don't."

"Then no more," she was practically yelling, "Ok, you're done, I don't care what it takes, it's over, even if I have to drag you into rehab myself, got it." Her eyes spoke of fierce determination and a resolve that told him he had no choice in the matter.

"Yes, I got it."

"I'll be up to your place every week with a home drug test, and the first time you piss positive I'm terminating your lease and finding someone else. Then I'm dragging your happy ass kicking and screaming all the way to rehab, am I understood."

"Yes, ma'am."

Her tone became softer again, "I love you Rave, you know that right, I mean how long have we been friends."

"Since time began."

"We've had our ups and downs, but we've always been there for each other, and I don't want to see you lose everything over this," she pulls him in for a hug, "Just promise me you're going to try."

"I promise," a single tear fell down Rave's cheek, lucky for him it was the side the mask was on.

Later that evening, after the party started to die down, Alice made a little trip down to the Dock, and walked up to the counter were Roxy was checking ID's. Pulling back her hand she let it fly and punched her old rival in the nose, then pointed a finger in her face as Roxy tried to stop the bleeding. "If you ever sell another crumb of that garbage to any of my friends again, you'll rue the day that you were born. Don't fuck with the house Divine, bitch," walking off, she left her to lick her wounds.

 **A/N- OK I think I should explain gay slang a little for those that don't know, so you understand why Justin's costume was called the big bad wolf when all he wore was pants chaps and boots.**

 **Twink- a thin man who is smooth (No chest or stomach hair, think how we normally portray Edd)**

 **Otter- same build as a twink but has chest and stomach hair and sometimes a beard.**

 **Gym Bunny- Muscular with no hair, how Kevin is normally portrayed.**

 **Wolf- Same as a gym bunny but with body hair and or facial hair.**

 **Bear- a husky man with body and facial hair, cub is for the younger men of this variety.**


	66. It Is a Wise Father

Chapter 66 – 12th Grade – It Is a Wise Father That Knows His Own Child

 **A/N- The title is a quote from William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice act 2, scene 2. In the play the man he is talking to is blind, so the quote roughly goes that even if you could see you would not know me, for it is a wise father who knows his own child. Nat belongs to C2ndy2c1d, and a side note, there are many people in this world with the same name, so no this is not the same Nat as earlier in this fic, I am forced to use him once again, for reasons that will become apparent later. He is currently 41, the current year in the fic is 2016.**

Alice opens the front door to Bella Roma and walks in to the family owned Italian restaurant, "Ciao Bella Donna."

"Ciao zio Jo Jo," Alice greeted the owner of the establishment.

"I take it my nephew is still sick," the older man comes from around the bar and kisses her upon each cheek.

"Si," her expression was crestfallen, "He just can't seem to shake this flu, I hope you understand."

"You've never lied to me before Bella," he walks over to the kitchen entrance and picks up her take out order, "Tell him to get better soon so he can hurry up and get back to work."

"Will do uncle," he places the bag in her hand and she tries to hand him the money for the food.

"No, no, I should be paying you for taking care of my pain in the ass nephew."

"Thank you, Jo Jo," she kisses him on each cheek and heads for the door, turning around she gives a wave goodbye to the older man.

Back up in the apartment Rave was searching through his contacts trying to find a number, his inside in knots as his body was craving the drug he has been denied for several days. But it wasn't there, Alice must have erased it already, racking his brain he tries to remember it, typing it in manually he got it wrong three times before the familiar voice comes through, "Hello?"

"Hey Roxy," he begins but was cut off.

"Who's this?"

"It's Rave."

"Uh-uh, your bitch of a friend broke my nose," her anger was noticeable through the speaker.

"Roxy, Roxy, I just need," yet again cut off.

"No hoe, I can't trust you to keep your mouth shut, so I can't do business with you," she hangs up the phone abruptly.

"Roxy? ROXY?" But the phone beeps to let him know the call was ended.

The door to the apartment opens and Rave quickly puts the phone back down on the dresser and jumps back into bed, cursing his aching body. Alice walks into the room and immediately looks at the phone which has been moved from where it had previously been and picks it up, looking at the recent calls list, "I already told you that I spoke to that bitch, didn't I? If she knows what's good for her she won't be selling to you anymore."

His appearance was feverish and pained as he rolled over to face away from her, "Why do you hate me so?"

"I don't darling, I love you and that's why I am doing this," she sits upon the bed, placing the bag down on the bedside table. Pulling out a Styrofoam container, "Here, you need to eat."

Looking at the lidded bowl, he scrunches up his face in disgust, "You know I'm just going to throw it up."

"You still need to try," she pulls the lid off the bowl and gets the plastic spoon, "Come on, roll over and let mommy feed you."

On top of the physical pain he was going through because of the detox, his emotional side was a total train wreck as well. Rolling over he buries his face in her lap and wraps his arms around her waist, sobbing. They spent the next few hours talking, as he bemoaned lost love while she dried his tears, debating whether it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. They also reminisced about old childhood crushes and missed connections, along with remembering by gone friends they hadn't seen in years. Finally, they both fell asleep in each other's arms, and Rave got some much-needed rest, it was the first good night's sleep he's had in several days.

Down stairs on the second floor the phone was ringing as Edd rushed out of the bathroom to answer it, Kevin being already at work for the evening. Seeing the caller ID on the cellphones screen, he answers, "Hello Grandma."

"Hello sweetie," Edd cringes slightly, these were his biological father's parent's, and being the grandparents of their only child's only child made them super doting of him. When Edd was a kid he enjoyed the attention, but now that he was older it could get kind of annoying, especially since they sometimes acted like he was still six years old. "Your grandfather and I were just wondering if you were free this weekend?"

"Um," Edd was searching his mind to see if they had plans already or if he was free, "I think I'm free."

"Good, bring that man of yours down, we would like to meet him."

Edd was taken a back, he hadn't even told his grandparents that he was gay yet, since they were old school and religious, he wasn't sure how they would take it, let alone told them that he was engaged. There was one person how might have let it slip, his mother, even though she couldn't stand his father, for obvious reasons, she had no problem with Edd knowing his grandparents, "Did mother tell you?"

"Yes, she told me about the engagement."

"And the other, thing?"

"Edd, I've had a feeling that you were going to be gay since you were in elementary school," was he really that noticeable, even back then? "Your mother and I had a long talk after you came out, and I told her that she just needed to love her son, that Jesus never said a thing against homosexuality and that god doesn't make mistakes."

Edd's eyes felt a little teary, he had once again over annualized someone reaction to his sexuality and had been amazed at the outcome once they had found out. "I love you grandma," he said as he steadied his emotions.

"I love you too, sweetie," her voice was full of warmth, "So can we expect the two of you this weekend or not?"

"Yes, we'll be there."

"So, are you coming up Friday night and staying the weekend, or just staying Saturday night?" Wow, yet again they are thinking he's a child with no responsibilities.

"Um, I don't know if we can even stay one night, I'll have to ask Kevin and my boss to see if we can get Sunday off." For a second he thought he could feel her disappointment through the phone, "But I'll try, no promises though."

"That's all we ask, well we'll see you then," it made him happy that her voice sounded excited about their visit, "We'll go out for dinner or something, tell Kevin I am looking forward to meeting him."

"I will grandma," he couldn't help the smile crossing his face that they were apparently happy for him, "We'll see you then." They said their farewells and ended the call, now to break the news to Kevin that he was going to meet his extended family, he could only hope that he would be as excited about this as he was.

Thankfully Kevin was, it was more family for him to meet, who were accepting of their love and devotion for each other. Unfortunately, neither one of them could get Friday night off to make the trip, Kevin had Saturday already scheduled off and just planned to call in on Sunday, Uncle Jo Jo begrudgingly agreed to give Edd Saturday off. With Rave out sick he was in a tight spot and short on staff, but could fortunately call upon some of his other family members, who worked at the winery, to fill positions when he needed them. Edd's grandmother was sixty-five years old, his grandfather had just turned seventy earlier this year, and neither were in the best of health to make long trips by themselves anymore, so any visits had to be made at their place. The two of them had moved back to Evansville a few years ago, to be closer to both of their families and their son, instead of having to regularly make the three-and-a-half-hour trip down there to visit.

Edd and Kevin left early that morning, stopping at McDonalds to pick up some coffee and something quick to eat along the way. Hitting Summerville, they were just under a third of the way there and keeping their energy up by singing along to some music, Kevin flipping through their Spotify list as Edd was driving along the interstate. Playing around with each other with the lyrics of the song, for example, every time that Katy Perry sang out Ur so gay they would point or poke at each other. Half way through the trip they stop at a rest area to stretch their legs and get some sodas from the vending machines, before hitting the road again, this time Kevin taking the wheel for the remainder of the trip. With Edd playing navigator in the passenger seat, but still having to rely upon the phones GPS to get them their once they reached the town.

Pulling into the driveway of a cozy one story brick house, they parked the car in front of the garage door and turned the engine off. As they were getting their luggage out of the trunk the door to the house opens and a short older lady comes out of the door. Her years were evident upon her face and the color of her hair, but she was as energetic as ever. Her husband was a little less lively in his walk having to use a cane nowadays, he was diagnosed with an aneurism on his aorta positioned right beside his heart two years before they moved. Though he fought with this condition daily, it did not diminish his love for life, or his family, Edd would sometimes marveled at his strength to carry on as though nothing was wrong. Warm greetings were had right then and there, his grandmother hugging Kevin affectionately, while his grandfather extended his hand to the man shaking it heartily.

"You two must be tired after that trip," his grandmother led the way into the house with her arm around Edd's. "Come in and take a load off, and you can tell us all about yourself Kevin."

"Now Carol, don't pester the poor boy."

"And how am I supposed to get to know my future grandson if I don't, Jeffrey?"

Over the course of the next thirty minutes they talked and asked questions of Kevin as he told them his plans to go to a trade school with Big Ed after he graduates. He also told them that he has been prodding his fiancé into going to college, that the two of them could move down to Summerville together where there were several trade schools and colleges for them to choose from. This of course only won him brownie points with the grandparents as they too knew that Edd needed to further his education so he could get himself a nice carrier.

"So, Junior, your man's making a lot of sense," his grandfather looked him over as he spoke, "Have you thought about what you want to do with your life?"

"Please don't call me that," he didn't want to be reminded of the father that hasn't been in his life since he was three years old. He barely had any memories of the man who helped to bring him into this world, all his mother ever told him is that they got divorced when he was a toddler because of adultery, and that was it. She never explained to him why the man never came to see him, or why there were no birthday or Christmas gifts from him, but after a while he stopped trying to understand. He just accepted the fact that the man obviously didn't want anything to do with his life, and that was all he really needed to know after all.

"Sorry Eddward," his grandfather looked a little disappointed at his reaction to his suffix.

The room was filled with an uneasy quiet for a few moments, Kevin was tapping his hands upon his knees, feeling as though he was witnessing some old bad blood that he shouldn't be involved in. "I'm thinking," Edd broke the silence, "Of going into the compute field, whether its technician or some other branch I'm not sure yet. And yet again it might be something completely different, there are so many choices after all."

"You take your time sweetie," Carol reassured him, "You can always get your prerequisite courses out of the way while you're still making up your mind."

A knock at the door and it swings open, "Mom, dad, you home?"

Edd's blood runs cold for a moment as he was probably about to be face to face with the man he absolutely didn't want to see right now. Carol gets out of her recliner and makes her way to the front door, "Nat, what are you doing here?"

A sigh of relief, he must be some old childhood friend of their sons coming to pay them a visit. She enters the hall and the two of them started to whisper, Edd could only pick up his grandmother's side of the conversation. "No, we haven't asked him yet," a pause, "This visit isn't just about that Nat." He was unable to hear the rest of the conversation as Jeffery started talking to Kevin about sports, particularly football, and was drowning out the conversation that was happening in the hall.

A few moments later Carol walks back into the living room followed by an older gentleman, he stood about six feet tall, blonde well-kept hair that was starting to thin slightly at the front, his light brown eyes almost looked golden. He takes a long hard look at Edd then over at Kevin, then casually waves at them, "Hey, I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Nat," he steps forward and extends his hand toward Kevin.

"Kevin Barr," he stands and takes hold of the hand offered him firmly, Nat seemed to give him a strange look.

"You must be little Anthony," Kevin looked surprised, only his extended family called him that, "I use to live in Peach Creek and knew your father, you are David's son, right?"

"Well, he disowned me," Kevin didn't let his emotions on the subject come to the surface.

"He was always a bit of an asshole." Turning to Edd he extends his hand and Edd takes it, "Hello Edd, I'm an old friend of your fathers," he looked at the boy with a bit of nostalgia, "It's amazing how much you lo,"

"Nat," Jeffery called out, "That's a touchy subject."

"I'm sorry," his expression did look apologetic, "But you do, it's almost like looking back in time."

Edd could see that the man was obviously found of his father and didn't want to be rude, "Thank you, I'll take it as a complement." Sitting back down on the couch next to Kevin, he looks between his grandmother and Nat, "So what haven't you asked me yet," he didn't want to sound impetuous, but he didn't want to beat around the bush either.

Carol sighed and shock her head, "You see Nat, this is why I wanted you to wait till we called you, I wanted to at least visit with my grandson before any drama happened."

"Sorry mom, but you know me, I get kind of impatient and have push things along," he shrugged his shoulders then turns back to Edd. "Your father wanted them to ask you if you would like to get together and maybe try and reconnect."

Edd lets out a little astonished laugh, then stopped himself, he knew that they still loved their son and was going to try and be respectful of that. But a part of him couldn't help but feel shocked that the man had the nerve to ask this now, after almost fifteen years of silence and that's the part that won out. "Who does he thing he is, asking this of me, without so much as a word in years, hey son how you doing, is that too much to ask? And now he wants to get together and what? Act like we are best friends, bosom buddies, family? I-I," he realized that his volume had steadily risen and he was almost yelling now, rushing past Nat he heads into the kitchen and through the sliding door into the backyard.

"I'm sorry," Kevin says as he follows him, finding him sitting on a lawn chair, his face in his hands trying to calm down and restrain the emotions that were threating to spill over. Walking over he places his hand gently on Edd's back and massages it as he squats down to look at his scrunched-up face, "You alright?"

Edd nods and takes a breath, "I must have looked like a fool."

Kevin hated seeing him like this, in pain, his self-doubt and emotions running wild, "No, you were just speaking your mind, they will understand that."

Edd reaches over and takes his hand giving it a gentle squeeze, "Thank you for always being here for me."

"I'll always be here babe," he leans over and kissed Edd's forehead.

"Sorry about that Edd," they both turn their heads and look at the back door, seeing Nat stepping out of it and walking toward them. "But I will say, you have your mother and fathers temper," he stops a few paces away from them.

"I think you've done enough for today," Kevin says standing, "Edd has heard your request and has said no."

"Hear me out kid," Kevin bristled at that word, and Nat pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one. "Look Edd, I know your mad at your father, hell I'm mad at him for not trying harder sooner, but he thought he was respecting your mothers wishes by staying away."

Edd turns his back to the man, "I just want to know why, that up until now, I've meant nothing to him."

Nat quickly moves over to the chair in front of Edd and leans forward looking him in the eyes, "You mean a great deal to him, he just chose to be subtle about it.' He took a long drag off the cigarette and turned his head to blow the smoke away from them, "You might not have noticed it, but there were always extra presents from your grandparents on your birthdays and at Christmas. He was afraid your mother might throw his out if he sent them with his name on them. I helped him pick out that chemistry set you got when you were eight."

Edd remembered that present, then looked at him imploringly, "Then why has he suddenly decide to stop being subtle? Why wait so long?"

"He figures that since your almost eighteen, you were old enough to make your own choices, to choose whether you wanted to see him or not," he takes another drag off the cigarette as he leans back, blowing the smoke out of his nose. "What's the worst that can happen, you meet, have a nice little chat, you decide that it was enough for you, and you go your separate ways, end of story, you never have to hear from him again. But if you do decide to give him a chance, it might turn out to be a good thing, for the both of you, just saying. Either way, going to meet him could give you some closure and a chance to get off your chest what you've always wanted to say to him." Standing he walks past Edd and pats him on the shoulder with his free hand, "Just think it over, ok," then deposits the cigarette butt in the little tin can by the door before entering the house.

Kevin watches the door slide close then takes the seat Nat was just occupying, "Babe it's your choice, but let me tell ya, if my dad walked through that door right now and said that he was sorry and wanted to talk, I would jump at it."

Edd looks at him perplexed, but understanding quickly set in, "Because you would be getting your family back, I've never known this man, he's a total stranger to me."

"But he's family, and that's important," Kevin's expression was serious and he reaches over to take Edd's hand again, "A bridge can be built if both sides want it and common ground can be found. Besides, it's just like that guy said, just because you meet him doesn't mean you're promising to get to know him, and if you do decide to get to know him that doesn't mean you have to instantly treat him like he's your father."

"Tony's my father, no one else," Edd said that a little too harshly and instantly regretted it, "I'm sorry."

"I get it, Tony's a great dad, he's treated me like a son even when he didn't have to," he looks down at their clasping hands, "I just don't want you to miss this chance and regret it later."

"Do you really think I should?"

"I do," Kevin looks back up into his eyes, "I mean it can't hurt, can it?"

"It might."

"I'll be right there with you," he gives him a reassuring smile, "I promise."

"Ok," he slowly stands and leads Kevin back into the house hand in hand, to let his grandparents and Nat know that he would agree to one meeting with his father. That it was by no means a promise for the future, that he was only willing to hear him out and give him a chance.


	67. Table Manners

Chapter 67 – 12th Grade – Table Manners

 **A/N- ok just so I can let everyone know, Edd Sr. is from the story Winged Cupid Painted Blind, that's why this Nat is older as well. So, if you haven't read it, it gives you the beginning of his story. His story will also be expanded in Down the Rabbit Hole, since Alice is only a few years younger than him and went to the same high school.**

Eddward Marion Vincent Sr. sat in his chair at the table squirming and fidgeting with his tie, the damn thing was beginning to feel like a noose around his neck. Nat slaps his hand away gently, "Stop, you're going to fuck it up."

"Remind me why I put up with your foul language," Edd paused then continued, "Oh yes now I remember, because I love you."

"Damn straight," Nat gave him a warm smile as he straightened his tie once again.

"There's nothing straight about me, you should know that better than anyone," Edd quipped as he picked up his glass of water to wet his parched mouth.

"Well not anymore, anyways," and he looks to the door, "But the proof that you once tried is about to walk through the door."

Edd looks up and was astonished by the pair of young men who were entering the restaurant, if God had a sense of humor this was proof of it. His son was the spitting image of him when he was that age, and the red head standing next to him holding his hand proudly also looked vaguely familiar, there was some differences but he could see the family resemblance. Nat raises his hand in the air and waves them over, Edd nervously fussed over his hair trying to make sure it didn't look like he had just rolled out of bed.

Kevin leans over and whispers in his fiancé's ear, "Your dad looks nervous, babe."

"Don't call him that," was his bitter response.

"But he is," Kevin protested.

"Biologically maybe," Double D huffed.

As they reached the table both men stood to greet them, extending his hand to Edd, Nat said, "So nice to see you again." Then turning to Kevin, he introduces the man to his right, "Kevin, this is Eddward Vincent, Edd's father."

"A pleasure," the older man said less then enthusiastically as he shook his hand, "How's your cousin?"

Kevin looked at the man in confusion, how would he know his cousin's? "They're fine I guess, I haven't really talked to Tina or Sam since my dad disowned me," he stated as the four of them sat down.

"No, no he meant,' Nat started.

"It's not important,' Edd interrupted waving him off, but Nat tried to continue anyways, "It's fine Nat."

Having been hushed on that subject Nat turned his attention to his friend's son, "So, Junior, why don't you tell us a little about yourselves, like how the two of you met."

"Please don't call me that," the tone in Double D's voice was a little spiteful, and normally he would apologize for it, but right now he didn't care.

"Oh right, sorry about that," Nat said but saw the hurt in his friend's eyes, "So what would you like us to call you then, seeing how two Edd's at the same table would be kind of confusing."

"Double D is fine," he said harshly and picked up the menu, not caring to entertain the idea of answering his earlier question.

"Double Damaged by the look of it," Nat said sarcastically.

"Nat," the older man admonished him.

"I'm not damaged," Double D protested dropping the menu while Kevin was bristling at the edges, this man has got a really big mouth in his opinion.

"I'm sorry kid, but I call em like a see em, and your wearing your anger on your sleeve," Nat said motioning toward Double D.

Standing he looks over to his fiancé, "Kevin lets go, we're done here."

Seeing the panicked look in his friend eyes, Nat calls out, "Please wait." Causing both boys to stop in their tracks, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry maybe I was a bit harsh, but you have to admit that you did walk in here with your war face on."

"Do you actually blame him though," Kevin addressed him as he stood next to his chair, "He's got a lot of emotions about this. So would you stop stirring the shit and let them talk."

Nat holds up both of his hands defensively, "Fine, the floors theirs."

"It's up to you Babe," Kevin looked over at Double D, "We can go if you want." Edd pulls out his chair and takes his seat once again, taking in a deep breath, he lets it out, releasing all his aggravation. The man might be brash, but he spoke the truth, he did come in here looking for a fight, not giving the man across from him a chance. The waiter comes over and takes their drink order, giving the two newcomers a moment to look over the menu.

"So, son," Edd started but was quickly interrupted.

"You don't get to call me that yet."

"Fair enough, Double D it is then," his weak smile went unnoticed by the boy who was giving all of his attention to the menu in front of him. "Do you have any questions you want to ask?"

"Just one, why?"

"Why what? You have to be specific," he was trying to be gentle but came off as overly anal.

"Why did you leave us?"

"I suppose your mother told you about the infidelity," his son nods but didn't look up from the menu. "Well, it's not going to make much sense to you, but I was hurt many years ago, and the funny thing about it is that just because you stop feeling the pain doesn't mean that the effects of it are gone. So, I withdrew from who I truly was, trying to keep myself from being hurt like that again, and a few years later I met your mother. At first it was just a high school romance like any other, my attempt to hide who I was from myself, and over time I did fall for her, truly I did love her, but that love was born from a lie. That lie was the product of what I thought my family wanted for me, and what society deemed normal, so I too started to believe that it was what I wanted for myself. I went to college, she got pregnant and we got married, we were in love after all so it was the natural thing to do. But with all lies they will eventually come to the surface, and I couldn't deny who I was anymore, I couldn't give your mother the affection she deserved. I started to distance myself from her, not wanting to hold her, or to kiss her, and yes, I cheated on her with who I was really attracted to, that is my sin to live with. So, in my guilt I confessed all of it to her, apologized that I did her wrong, but unfortunately the damage was already done and we got a divorce."

Looking up from the spot on the table he had been examining while he told his story, he sees his son gawking at him. "So what your telling me is that you got hurt and in the process of finding yourself hurt my mother."

"Essentially, yes." Under the table, Nat was holding Edd's hand for support, giving it a gentle squeeze, as Kevin was doing the same for Double D

Turning his attention to Nat, "Were you the one fucking him while he was still married to my mother?" The waiter walks up in the middle of that sentence and turns to walk away, knowing that they needed more time with their appetizer of drama.

"No I wasn't," he replied seriously, "I've known your father for a long time, and yes we were in a relationship," he pulls their still clasped hands out from under the table to bring them to rest upon it. "But that didn't happen until a few years after the divorce, so you can point those daggers elsewhere kid."

"We're just very good friend's now," Edd said meekly, a flash of embarrassment upon his face.

"Ok, so you found yourself with the help of this peacock, good for you," his words were spitting venom, "But that still doesn't explain the silent treatment."

"Your mother asked me to stay away, and who was I to deny her that. Sure, I could have fought for visitation, but I knew that our constant fighting would eventually wear on you and make you hate me." He sighed as he knew that his excuses were only that, excuses, he could only hope that the boy would understand his logic. "I hoped that if I gave the two of you space that you would grow up loved and not be hurt by my selfishness, and maybe one day, like now, we could try and reconnect in some small way."

"You know I spent the first couple of years of school wondering why I didn't have a father, why did everyone else have one but me?" Double D's lip quivers slightly and Kevin squeezes his hand, "I kept asking myself what did I do that was so wrong, that he would leave me?"

"I never stopped thinking about you," Edd pulls out his wallet and removes an old worn out picture, placing it upon the table. The picture was of a younger Edd napping with an infant Double D laying on his chest face down, both with their eyes closed and looking peaceful. Kevin thought Double D looked so cute in the picture with his father, but knew better then to voice that opinion at the moment.

"You know what," Edd stands and pushes in his chair, "I've given you enough of my time." He goes to turn and walk away, but stops, "You say you didn't want to hurt me with your selfishness, but I say everything you have done has been nothing but selfish." Walking away and toward the door, Kevin following behind him.

And as the red head passes, Nat calls out, "Say hello to your cousin for us," earning him another confused look from the boy. Returning his attention to Edd he rubs his shoulder, "It could have been worse, at least you got to tell him your side."

"No, he's right, I've been so selfish," his sadness was apparent to the man who has known him for so long.

Nat signals to the waiter and orders him a double shot Screwdriver, "He's only gotten the abridge version, he doesn't know everything." The drink that was placed at their table a few moments later barely had any orange juice in it at all, and as he drank it down Nat ordered their meals.

Arriving back at his grandparent's house, Double D quickly started to pack up their belongings, wanting to get the hell out of dodge as soon as possible. Carol walks into the room and sits upon the bed with a groan, patting the spot beside her, "Didn't go so well I take it," she wraps her arm around his shoulder. He shakes his head as he fought back tears of frustration, "I won't make excuses for my son's misguided attempt at happiness, because it brought someone very beautiful and special into my life," she bops his nose. "So I won't call it a mistake, just know that we all stumble in life, it's how we handle it that matters."

"But he didn't, that's the issue," Edd places his head on her shoulder.

She sighs, "Do you remember getting phone calls from me when you were a kid, but no one would answer you when you said hello?" He nods, "That was him wanting to hear your voice, I had to tell him to stop it before your mother caught on. She had called back a few times wondering what I was needing, thinking you had hung up on me, it's a good thing I'm a quick thinker." She taps the side of her head with her forefinger, "And that Tony is such a wonderful man, your mother is a lucky woman to have found him you know. So kind and generous, anytime you did something worth wild, or for no reason at all, he would let Edd know all about it. How that arrangement got started I will never know, I think he must have answered the phone before you did one time."

"Is that really true," Double D didn't want to let go of his anger just yet, though these new developments were making that difficult.

"Would I lie to you boy?"

"No."

"Do with this information what you will," she squeezes her arm around him tightly, "But it would be nice to have my boys home for Christmas one year." He made no promises, but said his farewells to begin their long journey home, think about all his biological father and grandmother had said to him, wondering if he could make peace with his feelings with it.


	68. Family Ties

Chapter 68 – 12th Grade – Family Ties

 **A/N- Alright, I guess I'll go ahead and explain the Barr family tree, sorry this A/N will be a little bit long. William Kevin Barr had two sons and two daughters, his son's names are Richard and Samuel Barr. Richard Barr had one child a son, who he named after himself and his father, Kevin Richard Barr, this is the Kevin from Winged Cupid Painted Blind. Samuel Barr had two sons, twins, and one daughter, his son's names are David and Timothy Barr. David Barr had one child a son who he partly named after his grandfather, Kevin Anthony Barr, this is the Kevin from Loves Fool. This makes Kevin Richard Barr the second cousin of Kevin Anthony Barr, I hope that clears the air about Kevin's heritage and why Edd Sr. asked about his cousin. If you live in a small town like Peach Creek and have the same last name, then you are more than likely related in some way or another. The childhood family nickname of Little Anthony came from a need to keep all those Kevin's straight in the extended family's head.**

The three and a half hour long drive home felt like it took no time at all, already they were halfway there. But it did give Edd the time he needed to reflect on things and ponder questions he wanted to ask, not only of others but of himself as well. All his mother ever said about her relationship with his biological father was a very vague account of the events that led up to their divorce. How he had become cold a distant the last year of their marriage, and ultimately had confessed to infidelity, but never elaborated upon the circumstances of it. These conversations were brief and only ever happened when he had asked about the man when he was a young child, forcing him to quickly learn that it was a touchy subject for her that was best left in the past. For her eyes would grow cold, sad and bitter whenever the topic about the man was brought up, as though she was trying to keep her emotions to herself for the sake of her child.

Leaning his head against the window he watched the passing scenery as he held Kevin's hand and was comforted by it. It was funny, now that he thought about it, how someone who he had once considered his bully was now his rock against the turbulent seas of life. That this one small simple act could calm him and bring him peace of mind, to know that there was someone who would support him, hell even fight for him when it was needed, all without having to be asked. Caressing his thumb against Edd's, he did what he could to comfort the man he loved, "It's alright babe, you don't have to see him again if you don't want to." Edd hummed his agreement, "You got to say your peace and let him know how you felt. I just hope it gave you the closure you needed, even if all he gave you was a bunch of lame excuses."

Edd lifts his head off the glass and looks toward Kevin, "Were they really all that lame though?"

"Yeah, I think so," Kevin said confidently, but was now unsure of his own statement.

"We have both seen what fear can make us do, after all I also dated a girl to hide who I was once. And he comes from a different time, where there were a lot less people who were supportive and understanding of people like us. Just look what happened to you when you came out." Edd paused for a moment to let his words sink in, "We both could have just as easily made the same mistake, stayed in the closet, got married to some girl, had children and been miserable hiding who we really are." It's funny that with just a little passage of time so much clarity can come to a situation, "And all of this being born from the fear of losing our family."

"So, does this mean you forgive him?" Kevin asked hoping some form or reconciliation could be made between the two men.

"No I have not forgiven him yet," Edd replied exasperatedly, "But I am beginning to understand him, even if it's just a little." The car fell back into silence as Edd continued to ponder his father's situation, trying his damnedest to understand his motives. Understanding why he hid who he is was the easy part, making peace with the fifteen years of silence between them was going to be harder. Kevin not wanting his fiancé to dwell on trouble thoughts turned the conversation to lighter topics, such as their plans for thanksgiving. Since he worked retail, he knew that he would be unlikely to get that day off due to the sales that would be going on that evening, and Edd would more than likely be unable to get Friday off. So it was decided that they would talk to the parents and see if the day before would work for them, so they could all hopefully sit down and have dinner together.

Arriving back in town shortly after five, they were both exhausted from the long road trip and ready to call it a night, but Edd still insisted upon going to visit with Mom and Dad. In the back of Kevin's mind red flags were popping up like crazy and he knew that he should talk Edd out of going to see his mother just yet. But the look of determination in his eyes told him that it was an argument that he would not win, and who was he to deny him if it brought him peace of mind to get the other half of the story.

Pulling in front of the house a short time later, they exit the vehicle and Kevin quickly enters the house, "Mom, Dad, you home?" Edd following slowly behind him, now that he was here he wasn't sure if he wanted to have this conversation and if he did have it he should stay calm, after all it wasn't her fault the man stayed away.

"We're in the kitchen dear," Leslie's voice came from the back of the house, when they entered the room they were greeted by a warm smile from both parents. Tony was sitting at the table and Leslie was at the counter making herself some tea, "How was the trip?"

"Good," Kevin answered, "Long drive, but good."

"Please tell me they were good to you," Leslie's voice had a hint of concern as she walked over to the red head to brush his bangs to the side.

Kevin gives her a confused look, "They're wonderful people."

"Well his grandma can be a little, um," Leslie starts.

"Nosy," and Tony finishes

She shrugs her shoulders and smiles as to say, yeah we said it, "She grilled you for information didn't she." Kevin smiled to acknowledge the fact that she did ask him a lot of questions, "She's probably on the phone bragging to all her friends about you right now, she likes to gossip in her old age."

"Mom," Edd starts, Leslie took it as admonishment.

But Kevin knew better and stalled for a little more time to keep the peace, "So what do you all think about having dinner on the day before Thanksgiving this year."

Tony was saying how that would work for them as Edd addressed his mother, "I met with him."

Leslie looked confused for a few mere seconds before realization hit her, of course that is why his grandparents wanted to see him this weekend. Nosy wasn't really the best word to describe that woman, more like meddling. "Kevin," Tony stands from the table and begins to head toward the door, "Maybe we should give them some privacy." The man followed his soon to be father in law out of the room, placing a hand upon Edd's shoulder as he passed him.

"So," Leslie begins, "Did he make me out to be the bad wife that couldn't make him happy, the cause of all his woes and sorrows?"

"No," Edd replied plainly, "He said nothing negative about you, if anything negative was said it was directed toward himself."

"He could be like that at times," She takes a seat next to her son, "So what all did the two of you talk about then?"

"I wasn't the nicest person to him, if that makes you feel better," it did not, after all these years she has put that pain behind her. Not that she was ever going to go out of her way to be in the same room as the man, but would hold a civil conversation if she ever found herself in his company again. "I mainly pretended to ignore him while I listened to him explain himself, judging him for every word he said. I kept thinking, how stupid could you be to marry a girl when your obviously gay," he pathetically chuckles at his own words.

"I couldn't tell," she stated, "Or more like, I refused to." Edd cocked a brow at her curiously, "Let me explain," she goes into detail about the rumors that went around in high school about his father. Not that she could recall the exact wording of these rumors, just the in general context of them, "And that's what made me so angry at the time. Here I had all these signs telling me that he was gay, but I refused to see it, it took him flat out confessing it to me before I accepted it and I just thought, how stupid could I be."

"The sad thing is I could have just as easily made the same mistake, so I get his reasons, I just can't get over being angry that he was never there," Edd casts his eyes down to his hands that are in his lap.

"That was probably my fault," she lets out a sigh, deciding to take her share of the blame, "The divorce was a train wreck for him, I kind of drug him through the mud."

"I don't blame you for that," Edd reassured her.

"No Edd, you should have gotten to know your father, but I was so angry at the time. When the trial was over I told him to stay the hell away from us," she chuckles lightly, "Well maybe not as nicely, but you get the point. I was bitter and played upon his guilt and with no fight left in him, he signed over his parental rights to see you and left us alone. Hell it was several years before I even let your grandparents see you again, they lived here at the time and we lived down there, so I kept making excuses on why I didn't have the time to bring you up for a visit."

"I still don't blame you," Edd puts his hand upon hers and gives it a gentle squeeze. "I can only imagine how mad I would be at Kevin if he ever did something like that to me," just the thought of something like that ever happening put a knot in his stomach, he could only ponder how she had felt while it was happening to her.

Seeing the little pang of sadness in his eyes she reassures him, "I don't think you have anything to worry about," returning the gentle squeeze to his hand, "He loves you so much." He knew that he didn't have anything to worry about, but those thoughts can still hurt for someone with depression, even the illogical ones. A moment later she leans back in her seat and lets out a sigh then asks, "Are you going to see your father again?"

"Maybe," he replied, unsure of his answer as he looked her in the eye, "You won't be mad?"

"Why would I be mad? That's all in the past," She weakly smiles to assure him she had no animosity toward his decision, "It's your choice if you want to see him."

"A small part of me wants to get to know him," his reply was softly spoken, "But a major part is afraid he might leave again, and doesn't want to take the risk."

"I can't tell you what you should and shouldn't do about this son," she took a moment to think as she still wanted to help her conflicted child. "But I would suggest that you take your time and think on it, if he really wants to reconnect with you, then he can wait at least that long. And if you do decide that you won't regret it, regardless of the outcome, then I would say you should try and get to know him."

Edd realized that she was right, he had all the time in the world to make his choice, "Do you think it is worth the effort?"

"Maybe, but you will never know unless you try."

"Thank you, mother," he leans over and hugs her tightly, "I love you," thankful that even when it concerned her ex-husband she could give him sound advice.

"I love you too, sweetie," she replied returning his hug, then released it and leaned back to look him in his eyes, "You two are going to stay for dinner right." Edd opened his mouth to protest, all he wanted to do right now was collapse on his couch and veg to some movies in Kevin's arms. "No arguing, you missed going to church with us today, the least you could do is stay for dinner."

"Yes ma'am," He replied, caving in to her request as he stood to go tell Kevin of his mother's wishes. His fiancé did not seem the least bit upset with it, this family was very important to him after all, and he cherished anytime he could spend with them. After dinner Edd made a phone call to his grandparents, telling them to inform his biological father to simply give him time.


	69. Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 69 – 12th Grade – Practice Makes Perfect

 **A/N – Just because I can't resist, so in the words of Bill and Ted "69 dudes."**

Nat leaned his friend against the wall next to his front door, precariously holding him there while fumbling with the keys using one hand. Finding the right key, he puts it in the lock and turns it, reaching down for the door knob he swings open the door. He was now glad that he had the foresight to drive Edd to the restaurant to meet his son in the first place, and had not allowed him to go by himself like the man originally wanted. Getting a call in the middle of the night to come pick him up from some bar, or worse from a hospital or jail because he thought he was sober enough to drive, was not on the list of things Nat wished to do today. "Come on, let's get you to bed," he put the man's arm around his shoulder and his arm around Edd's waist, walking him into the house and down the hall to his bedroom.

Plopping him on the bed unceremoniously he begins to take off his shoes, "Staw withh me Nat," Edd slurred as his friend pulled his last sock off.

"No Edd, I can't tonight," Nat loved the man who lay upon the bed very deeply, and he knew that he also loved him just as much.

"Pleaze Nat, you can make it to work on time from her'," though his heart yearned to hold and comfort him in ways that only he could, he knew that he was just a band-aid for Edd's broken heart. Edd Sr. had four wounds upon his heart, the first was from the pain of loving a man who told him he was his everything all those years ago. The second was the pain of not being able to uphold his marriage vows that he spoke in front of family, friends, the woman he loved and god himself. The third pain that he suffered was because he thought he was doing the right thing by giving his ex-wife space to raise their son, thus cutting the boy out of his life. Then there was the pain he felt for not giving all his heart to Nat, for keeping a big chunk of it reserved for the three other wounds that were already upon it, thus driving a wedge between them.

But when Nat looked into those pleading blue eyes that he loved so much, and saw that love reflected back at him, he became powerless to refuse him. "Alright," he breathed out, "But just for tonight," he reaches up and undoes the tie around his neck and depositing it upon the nightstand. Pulling him up into a sitting position he undoes the top three buttons of his shirt and pulls it over the man's head. Popping his head out from under the shirt, Edd joins their lips together, and out of second nature as well as fire that still burned brightly in both of their hearts, they instantly poured their passion into that kiss. Nat could taste the Vodka upon his tongue, but ignored it as the sweet taste of the man he has loved for many years came to the surface.

Edd moans through the kiss and undoes the buttons of Nat's shirt pulling it off him, desiring the feel of the man's flesh and his still slightly toned muscles. Pulling the man down onto the bed with him, he wraps his legs around his hips and rolls him over so he was now straddling him. Grinding his hips against the erection trapped inside Nat's pants as their tongues continued to dance with each other.

The phone rings and Edd first though was to ignore it, but there is something about a loud ring in a drunken state that gets kind of annoying rather quickly. Looking up at the phone on his bedside table he sees from the caller ID that it was his mother, _"_ _You've always got perfect timing mother,"_ he thought to himself. Over the years Edd has always noticed that his mother had this uncanny ability to know when he was getting down to business and would inevitably call him in the middle of it all. He was damn well surprised that the woman didn't try calling him on his wedding night to make sure that everything was going alright, probably his father keeping her at bay.

Nat looks at him in confusion as Edd continues to stare at the phone, "Are you going to answer it?"

He shakes his head, "No," and joins their lips again. Nat was also well aware of who the hell it could be, having the mood killed on multiple occasions by the woman who was now calling Edd once again.

The answering machine picks up and broadcast what she had to say, "Edd, honey, I know your probably busy and that's why you're not picking up." Edd groans at his mother's choice of words, "Say hello to Nat for me," and hides his face in Nat's shoulder for she obviously knew they were still friends with benefits.

"Hi mom," Nat replies and lets out a light laugh at Edd's shy behavior, and when the raven haired man looked up at him flushed red with embarrassment, "What, your grown," and shrugs it off.

The message continues, "I just wanted to let you know that your son just called and to not give up hope just yet." She pauses as she adjusts the phone, "He wanted me to let you know that he just needs some time, and I suggest you give it to him, let the boy figure out his feelings on the subject and then just take baby steps from there ok. I love you sweetie, and give me a call when you're not stooping your friend."

The call ends and Edd rolls off Nat with a sigh, Nat just chuckles knowing what Edd was thinking, "Hey, you got some good news finally." Looking over he sees that Edd was still flushed with embarrassment, "What she's old and says what she wants." Turning over he props his head up in his left hand and caresses Edd's with his right, "At least she not judging you."

"Oh no, she's judging me," and in a sarcastic way he continues, "You two aren't in a relationship anymore so you shouldn't be having sex with him. You're just stringing him along, Nat's too good to be treated like that, you should be with him if you want to keep having romantic encounters with him."

"You're not stringing me along, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be Edd," he pulls Edd's hand up to his lips and kiss the back of it.

"But I talked you into it."

"No, you didn't, the only reason I was against it at first was because all my clothes are at home, along with my brief case," he kisses the hand again, "So now I just need to get up extra early in the morning is all."

He rolls over and buries his face in Nat's chest, breathing in his scent deeply as he hugs him, "I love you."

"I know and I love you."

"Then why didn't we work?"

"I don't know Edd," he laid there for a few minutes rubbing his friends back with his hand, "Come on, let's get to bed, I've got an early morning tomorrow." Taking off their pants they climbed into be together, Nat holding him tight as they drifted off to sleep, Edd's head resting on his chest. He wakes up the next morning to find Edd in his usual position, curled up in a ball hugging his body pillow on the other side of the bed. What hurt Nat sometimes is the fact that Edd would occasionally talk in his sleep, and the other three wounds upon his heart were often the topic of those dreams. But today Edd called out his name as he slept, along with an apology and a declaration of love and for some reason that hurt just as much, all he could say in reply to his sleeping friend was, "I love you too Edd." Leaving a bottled water and a few aspirins on the night stand for Edd, he quietly leaves to drive home to get ready for his day.

Back in Peach Creek the week went by as normal, Edd and Kevin went back to their usual routine of school and work with some them time afterwards. Edd quickly pushing all concerns about his father to the back of his mind as he really didn't have the spare time to think about it at the moment. Rave returned to work that Monday with a light admonishment from his uncle for taking so much time off, but he also added that he was glad that he was feeling better. No one understood why the man seemed to be more irritable then usual after coming back, but over time he slowly returned to his usual self.

With Alice now living in Summerville and now pouring most of her attention into preparing to open the boarding house along with finding a job, she had little time to spare for coming down to visit them. This meant that Rave oversaw all things concerning Eddy's performance, from the get togethers for making the costumes, to shopping trips to buy the pieces they couldn't make themselves, to the practices during the week. Everyone who could go went down to Summerville on Saturday's to practice with Alice and Kev, which most of the time consisted only of Eddy and Justin, Since Kevin and Edd had their own jobs schedule to contend with. Rave on the other hand could never get that day off, since his uncle had decided a month ago to start grooming him to inherit the restaurant from him when he dies and hopefully take it over by next spring so he could start his retirement.

On the political scene during this week, a presidential election that was surrounded by accusations of Russian collusion occurred. Fear swept across all minority groups as some feared deportation and all wondered how many of their rights would be stripped away from them by this man. Would Alice and Kev's marriage be nullified by some constitutional amendment, could Kevin and Edd truly still get married once he took office, all held their collective breathes and waited to see what would happen as tensions rose in all the minority communities. Recounts were made, rallies had, some threatened to leave the country others screamed it was the second coming of the Nazi party, but nothing seemed to stop the man's ascension to power.

But I digress, life moves on for everyone regardless of the political scene, and those bridges would have to be crossed once they got to them, for history remembers the rights and wrongs of such men, and all speculated on how history would judge him.

The Saturday two weeks after their visit to Edd's grandparents, the entire group got together to practice, minus Rave of course. Alice had set up a little area in the basement of the house for Eddy and Justin to practice dancing in, she had drawn a line to represent the edge of the stage. The four spectators sat in chairs to watch the performance, so Alice could direct them and everyone else could be comfortable. As the music played and the couple danced and mouthed the words to the song, Alice leans back, "So I hear you saw your father."

Edd looks at her in confusion at first, but realized that Eddy probably told her, "Yes, we talked."

"I hope it was a good one," Edd didn't respond to her statement but the look told her all she needed to know, "I'm not going to tell you what to do about this, it's not my place."

"Then why are we talking about it then?"

"I was only curious about how it went," she had a feeling that the subject of his biological father would be a touchy one for him since the moment she met him.

"Everyone seems to have an opinion about it, Eddy, Angelica and Ed all think I should get over it and just go ahead and get to know him, like the last fifteen years of silence never happened." He was noticeably trying to contain his irritation on the subject, sure they were his friends but god let him make up his own damn mind already. "Kevin and mom say the will support me regardless of my choice," Kevin perks up at the mention of his name, "But I think they want me to talk to him too."

"That's up to you Edd," Kevin states and Edd looks in his fiancé's direction, "I'm not going to push the subject."

"You know, I knew your father in high school," Alice states and Edd turned back to face her with Kevin looking around him.

"You've never mentioned this before," Edd said, but did realize that they did live in a small town, so why should it be a surprise to him that they knew each other.

"Life experience, he wasn't in your life so I figured you didn't want to talk about it." She shrugged as to say what can you do, then continued, "But yes Kev and I both knew him."

"What was he like," Edd asked trying to contain his curiosity.

"Boy, was he a dork," Kev added, not taking his eyes off the two dancing.

Alice turns to her husband, "You were a dork," and laughs lightly, "But you're my dork," and bumps her shoulder against his. "But as I was going to say," she turns back to face Edd, "Our interactions were sparse as he was two years older than me, but from what I could tell he was a nice guy. A little misguided from what the rumors that surrounded him were saying, but he was trying to be happy in his own way, and that's all anyone can ask for right."

"Mother mentioned some rumors as well, but only could recall that they were all saying he was gay and something about a love triangle." He was trying to recall all that she had said, "You wouldn't happen to remember anything about them, would you?"

"Can't say that I do," she smiles and shrugs apologetically.

"Who can remember bull shit like that from so long ago," Kev adds, "But from what I do recall your mother got it right, except the love triangle part, I think he got beat up by the person he was dating because they got discovered."

Boy did that bring back memories for Edd about the red head that sat beside him, looking over sheepishly he saw that Kevin's eyes knew what he was thinking about and they spoke a thousand apologies to him. Alice gets up rather quickly and calls to the two dancing, "How many times do I have to tell you two, that if you cross this line you have fallen off the stage." Calming down as the two sputtered out their excuses and apologies she continues, "Justin you're leading so try and stay further back from the line, be mindful of your surroundings, you're supposed to act like your in the moment not get trapped in it." She spent the next ten minutes couching the two, giving them small suggestions on how to keep their attentions where they were needed. All the while Edd pondered what they had told him, slowly piecing together his father's past, realizing that the horse's mouth was probably the best place to get the truth.


	70. Friends and Family

Chapter 70 – 12th Grade – Friends and Family

 **A/N- Since the website was acting up all this week and last week and wasn't sending out emails when I updated my fic's, so if you didn't read a chapter last week I would suggest going back to chapter 69 so you are up to date.**

Alice woke up that Sunday morning and looked at her phone seeing the date, it was November 20th the anniversary, she groaned quietly and got up to get ready for the day. As she did her morning ritual, her mind was flooded with thoughts of the past, of love life and lose, of laughter and tears, fights and reconciliation. The smiling faces of old friend, and the new ones she made along the way, some still here others long gone from her life for one reason or another. Now that she was out of the shower and brushing her hair out, Kev comes into the bathroom, kisses her on her bare shoulder, "I'll be ready in a few," and steps into the shower.

Stepping out of the bathroom with her bathrobe wrapped around her she goes into the bedroom to get dressed, stepping out of her robe she puts her undergarments on before sliding into a simple black dress. Sitting at the vanity she does her makeup, then clasps a strand of pearls around her neck with a pair of matching earing's, then doing her hair up in a bun she pins a small black Fascinators hat to the top right of her head. Kev steps into the room and pulls out a suite from the closet, steps over to her and kisses the top of her head, "You look lovely," giving her a meek smile in the mirror, then walks away to get ready.

The trip to the Summerville National Cemetery was mostly quiet, Kev trying to keep her talking by asking her mundane question like where she wanted to go out to eat afterwards, only getting a halfhearted response of I don't care from her. Her thoughts continued to wonder to the past, filled with memories of pool parties at her "parents" house, or the bar trips with her five childhood friends when they were still underage, and then her early twenties and the day she last saw this person alive. Pulling up to the correct row of gravestones, they park on the side of the road and walk the short distance to their friend's gravestone. Standing before it she bends down and brushes the few dead leaves off the grave marker then stands to be comforted by Kev's arm around her waist. "Hey, I know it's been awhile, but I'm sure you understand, now that we live closer I promise that we will come and visit you more often."

She wipes a tear from her cheek as though the funeral was just yesterday, "So where to begin," she paused, "You remember Momma don't you, but of course you do, she always liked you, called you her little trouble maker." She smiled warmly at the memory, "So, can you do me a favor and watch over her for me, you know show her around the place, I know she'd like that." She could hear what her mother would say about that, telling her in a chiding voice that she was old enough to take care of herself and that she didn't need no looking after. "She can be a little strong willed at times, but you already knew that about her, just take good care of each other until we get up there, ok."

"Also, there are a few friends of ours who are getting married real soon, should be a really nice service, there's nothing like the promise of love to remind you that there's still good in the world." She paused again, as though she was imagining their response, "Oh yeah there's one more thing, Kevin and I are going to be starting up a home soon to help children in need, but I forgot you probably already know all of this don't you. I have always felt you near me all these years, watching over me and guiding me, and I know it is so selfish of me to ask more of you, but could you maybe put in a good word with the big guy for me. I could just really use as much help as I can get to start this home." Another tear falls and Kev tightens his grip on her waist, "We both miss you every day, I just really wish you were here," she places the small bouquet of flowers in front of the stone then spent a few quiet moments remembering all the good times the three of them had together. But all visits must come to an end and as Kev finished up what he wanted to say she places her hand upon the stone, "We'll see you soon old friend," and turns to walk away. As they made their away back to the car, she saw a tall figure approaching the stone and knew that part of her prayers had been answered.

That Wednesday Kevin and Edd sat down and had dinner with the family, it was a simple meal of baked ham, potato salad, backed mac and cheese, green beans and deviled eggs, just enough for the four of them. Tomorrow Edd would be spending the day with his parents at his grandparent's house on his mother's side, while Kevin was at work and enduring the holiday sales. This set of grandparents lived only thirty minutes away in a very small town that sat between Peach Creek and Summerville, off a country road on the outskirts of that town. He loved them both, but they were cheek pinchers to an extent, doting on their grandson in their own ways, even going as far as to offer to host his wedding on their property. Kevin's day that Thursday started off poorly, getting called into work early due to one of his coworkers having to go home sick. He reluctantly agreed to it but only on one condition, that he could have Saturday off to go shopping and spend the day with Edd, since his fiancé already had that day off.

With terms agreed upon, Kevin spent the entirety of thanksgiving working at Big Lots, dealing with the sales event and the customers that came with it, as Edd stuffed his face for the second day in a row. Calling Kevin at the store when he was on his way home, bringing him a paper plate full of food to have for his lunch, sitting with him as he took a short break to retrieve the food. Gentle Kisses were had at the car as Edd left him so he could get back to work, mindful to keep their affection hidden from prying eyes, since not everyone approves of what they are.

Kevin came home that night and collapsed into bed next to Edd, undressing as he made his way from the door to the bedroom, apologizing the next morning for the mess he left. Edd spent Friday evening at work, serving people who had enough of cooking the day before and wanted a break from it, earning some mighty fine tips that day. Kevin spent this time visiting with Ed and Angelica, enjoying the time he spent making M.D. laugh as they played together. By the time Edd got home it was his turn to fall into the bed exhausted, curling up next to his fiancé, falling asleep quickly as strong arms enveloped him, Kevin gently teasing him about clothes being left on the floor.

The next day, the two of them took a trip down to Summerville to see what specials would still be going on in the stores the big city had to offer. Being familiar with the major shopping establishments in the city, like the malls or big retail stores, they would have no issues there. But on this day, they also wanted to check out the local stores, to see what the ma and pop shops had to offer as well, so with this in mind, they made a little detour before their shopping day began. Dropping Edd off in front of the house, Kevin drove off to go fill the car up, trying to cut down on the time they would waste today. Ringing the door bell, Alice quickly answered it, her expression quickly changed from excitement to surprise, "Hello Edd, what brings you by today?"

She steps to the side to let him in the door, "We were wondering if you were free today to go Christmas shopping with us."

She leads him into the kitchen, "Wish I was," and pulls out the coffee pot, offering him some. He nods and send Kevin a text that the coffee was taken care of as she poured each of them one in a disposable cup. Edd added the sugar as she continued, "A friend is supposed to come over today and talk about the foster home I'm starting up."

"Are they helping you get financing?" Edd asked as he stirred the coffee.

She took a sip of her coffee then sits it down, "No, they work in the foster care system, helping to place kids in homes that will take care of them and their specific needs."

He caps the two cups, "So they're going to pair you up with LGBT youth?"

"Precisely, LGBT kids have a hard time in the system, we will hopefully be able to give them a safe environment to grow up in and keep them from returning to the streets or worse." She checks her phone and sees that he was now twenty minutes late, how typical of him.

"I hope your meeting goes well then," a text and he sees that Kevin is waiting for him outside, he replies that she wasn't going to be able to come with them. Another text, "Kevin says hi by the way and wants to know if you have any suggestions for good places to shop?"

"Try the highlands area, there are some good family owned businesses down there, then there are a few more in Old Summerville as well," the doorbell rings and they both head toward it. "Well I must bid you adieu my friend, my guest has arrived."

"Unless it's Kevin being impatient," he added as he handed her one of the cup so he could zip up his coat.

She opens the door one handed and lets her guest in, greeting each other with a kiss on the cheek in the tradition French way, "You're late," she playfully smacks the man on the arm.

"What can I say, holiday traffic," he takes off his coat but leaves his ballcap on. Edd noticed a tattoo on his right bicep of a heart wrapped in rose vines, the thrones piercing it making it bleed, a set of initials etched upon the heart.

She hands the cup back to Edd and the man finally notices him, "I'll see you later Edd, if your still in the area," she turns to her friend and ask, "What would you say two hours?" The man nods that he agreed that it should only take them that long, "Ok in two hours call me if your still around."

"OK, will do," they kiss each others cheeks and he steps out of the door to see Kevin bobbing his head to the music that was filling the car. As the door swung closed behind him, he could hear the man asking her who he was and her quick response that he was a friend.


	71. Bell of the Ball

Chapter 71 – 12th Grade – Bell of the Ball

 **A/N- A traditional ball is a competition with many different categories and prizes. Ranging from butch/fem queen, to see if a competitor can blend in with the heterosexual world, to drag shows to dance competitions. Practically everyone who attends one competes, and some houses require you to walk a ball before you are officially a member. There are more categories then I can mention in a short A/N but I'm sure you get the gist. Each category is open to transgender, cisgender or drag queen/king, you are just being judged by how well you fit the category.**

Kevin stood in the bathroom, fusing with his tie, no matter what he tried the darn thing would keep ending up too long or too short in the front, why hadn't he just bot a clip on. Oh that's right, years of his father drilling it into his head that a real man knows how to do certain things, that included tying a tie. It's funny that even though his father is no longer in his life he still holds some sway in it, and the things he has instilled in him would occasionally come to the surface. But since he started seeing Edd he has come to the realize that there are more important things in life then the hyper masculinity his father tried to make sure he kept to.

"Damn it," he exclaimed as he undid the knot for the fourth time.

Edd pokes his head into the bathroom, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just can't get this knot right," he began to try again.

Edd steps behind him, "Here let me help," and takes the piece of fabric from his hands and begins to tie the knot. This was one of things he has learned, that accepting the help from the one you loved did not make you weak, it made you stronger. To accept the love he was given and to return that love made him a far better person then he once was, and let the world and his parents be damned if they couldn't see that. "There," Edd said smoothing out the fabric with his hand as he stared at his fiancé in the mirror, his head upon his shoulder, "You look handsome."

Kevin turns his head and kisses his dork on the cheek, "Thanks, and you do to." Kevin looked at the man he loved adoringly, absent his beanie his hair parted to the right, an embarrassed gap toothed smile adorning his face. Another quick kiss and he checks his watch, they were going to be late if they didn't leave now, "Is the Godfather ready?"

And in a poor Vito Corleone impression Edd says, "Yes my son, take me to the church."

Kevin laughs at his poor attempt at the movie gangster, "Alright smart ass," he takes their coats off the hook by the door, "Let's get going." The December air was chilly on this Sunday evening as they rushed to the car to escape the wind, and to head to Prince of Peace Cathedral for M.D.'s baptism. Parking in the lot beside the church, Kevin looks up at the building that he hasn't stepped foot in since his family disowned him over a year ago. Looking at this building brought back several memories, his first confession and communion when he was in the first grade. His parent's protests when Father O'Malley was removed from his post at the church for his homophobic views when Kevin was twelve. The man had been the priest for their congregation since his father had been a child, and they were shocked that the archdiocese would go so far as to remove him for only speaking the word of god. That was also the year that Kevin first started noticing his attraction toward Edd, going as far as making a few moves on the dork in their band class. The memory of his childish and vague flirtation now made him chuckle lightly to himself.

"What," Edd questioned his sudden silent laughter.

Kevin smiles at him, still thinking about how long he has been attracted to the man who was now standing beside him, not only as the one he adored, but his soon to be future husband, "Nothing, was just thinking." Edd takes his hand as they made their way up the front steps and opens the door, loosening his grip to release Kevin's hand as they entered. The red head only tightens his own grip slightly, to let him know not to let go, he was going to enter this church again as who he was, proud and unashamed of that fact. Stepping in holding Edd's hand, he dips his free hand in the basin of holy water and makes the sign of the cross, allowing Edd to do the same before proceeding down the row of pews and toward the group at the front, "Sorry we're late."

"No, your right on time," Angelica said as she stood up with Michael in her arms the baby bundled up in a white thin blanket, Ed standing next to her, his arm around her shoulder. The rest of the group consisted of both sets of Michael's grandparents, Angelica's aunt, uncle and cousin who was the godmother. Edd's parents, Eddy and Justin along with their parents as well as some of their classmates and a few others they did not recognize.

"Hello Kevin," the priest addressed him holding out his right hand.

He releases his hold on Edd to take the man's hand in greeting, "Father Lewis."

"It's been quite some time hasn't it," his smile was warm and inviting.

"Yes it has."

"You must be Edd," he extends his hand toward him and Edd answered affirmatively as he took it, "I've heard so much about you from Angelica." Edd nervously smiles at the thought of his friend talking to a priest about him, "The two of you should come to mass, we would love to have the both of you."

"That's quite alright, but thank you though," Kevin answered nervously, the thought of running into his parents was more then he cared to think about.

"Oh, that's too bad," the man looked downtrodden, "You know we have mass on Saturday's and Wednesday's as well, I don't believe I have ever seen your parents attending either of those." Father Lewis gave him a look that told him that it was up to him, motioning with his hands in a shrug, "Just food for thought." Having said what he wanted to Kevin, he turns to the rest of the group, "Shall we begin then?"

The service to baptize Michael was beautiful, the priest anointing him several times with the holy water, as prayers were said and hymns were sung between each. The whole service reminded Kevin that he missed this part of his life and how he wanted it to be apart his life once again. Father Lewis was obviously welcoming them both to attend but he had to be sure and as Edd talked to the parents of the newest member of the faith, he had a little conversation with the priest. "Father Lewis," Kevin called to the man as he approached.

"Yes Kevin, how can I help you," he stopped his clean up to give the man his full attention.

"I was just wondering," Kevin hesitates a fear of being let down by the man before him filling his gut.

"Whether the invitation was meant for the both of you as a couple?" Kevin nods and the priest continues, "Yes, it was." He directs Kevin to sit in the front pew and takes a seat beside him, "I am well aware of why your parents disowned you," Kevin looked surprised and the priest explained, "Your father came to me for guidance on the subject."

"He did?"

"Yes, he did, and he didn't like what I had to say about it either, needless to say I didn't see either of them at service for several months after that," he shook his head as he contemplated the self-righteousness of some people. "So do feel free to bring your fiancé with you," he took a guess because of the ring on Edd's hand, "I'm sure everyone here would be happy to welcome the two of you as a couple."

"Thank you father," Kevin smiled warmly at the man's reassurance.

"No problem, I look forward to seeing the both of you at mass," he pats Kevin's knee then stood up to continue his work, "Just let me know if you need anything, I'm always happy to help." With that the man returns to cleaning up as Kevin walks over to his group of friends.

"Hey babe," Kevin puts his arm around Edd's shoulder, "How do you feel about going to church this Wednesday?"

"Oh, we'll go with you," Angelica says as she adjusted M.D. in her arms.

"Cool, we'll make it a group thing," he squeezed Edd in his arm, "That'd be fun, right babe."

"Yeah, it might be fun," if it makes Kevin happy he was going to be all for it. That Wednesday the five of them, which includes M.D., went to the first of many church services they would attend together, having dinner together at one of the couples houses afterwards before calling it an evening. School marched on as it always did, their senior year was almost halfway over now with no further outbursts of bigotry since the incident in the lunch room concerning Justin's HIV status. Which was a blessing for the four friends that were still attending school. With so much school missed, Angelica had also opted to just go ahead and get her GED and attend the local technical college in the spring to begin her higher education.

It was with that thought of all their higher education's looming over their heads, along with the charity event Alice was having that weekend that Kevin, Edd, Justin and Eddy all made a trip to Summerville, to window shop for possible apartments to move into once they graduated and to also attend the event. The charity event was being held that Saturday night, to collect money so that Alice and Kev could get all the essentials the children they would house would need, along with a nest egg to provide for any medical needs the children might have. The club that was hosting the event was gracious enough to do three things for her, first they gave her full run of the show room that evening to host her ball in. Secondly, they would donate fifteen percent of all they made that night from cover charges and drinks, any tips the performers made for the donation jar or outright first party donations were hers. And lastly, they made sure that Roxy had the night off.

After talking to her friend last month, it was decided that the house she was going to start would take children in on an emergency basis along with housing a few children permanently. She also wanted to spread the word that her home would be a safe place to help these children get off the street. So if a homeless youth came to her she would take them in under the emergency basis and help them find permanent residence, just like her mother did for her.

The event started at ten that night, giving everyone the opportunity to arrive and sign up for what categories they wished to participate in. Since it was a charity event, no monetary prize was to be given, only a sizeable trophy for each category which were donated to them by the community center Rave and Alice use to go to when they were younger. Even without the promise of prize money, attendance was beyond what Alice had expected, the house was packed with standing room only on the floor and both balconies. As she addressed the crowd and thanked them all for coming, reminding them all to be civil to one another, Eddy sat in the back getting ready with the other drag queens. Butterflies etched deep within his stomach, as tonight would not only be a trial run for his performance carrier, but was also his debut for the house Divine.

The first category was virgin fem queen catwalk, which translates to amateur realistic feminine charm in American runway fashion show style. The MC, Anita Fellatio, was cattier then the crowd, either encouraging the contestant to put more oomph in their performance with a, "Come on girl work it, work that runway." Or some quip about their outfit, "Oh look at her, so proud with her knockoff Louis Vuitton," or "Perk those tits up dear, they're sagging." But all in all, it was just in good fun as the contestants strutted in front of the judges who would hold up score cards for each before they would walk back off stage. Edina was proud of herself as she got three tens and two nines before leaving the stage to get ready for the next category she would be participating in tonight.

Edd, Kevin and Justin clapped for their friend from their seats on the floor, "Hey junior." Edd turns his head in the direction his suffix was called from and not only does he see his father, but the loud-mouthed blonde as well. Nat led the way through the crowd to where the three of them were sitting, holding Edd's hand so he wouldn't get lost, "Hey I thought that was you," he pulled up a chair for each of them that had just been vacated by a contestant, and they take their seats, "Do you mind if we join you?"

 _"_ _A little late to be asking that,"_ Double D thought to himself but only said, "Please do."

"How've you been boy," Nat as bold as always, his father on the other hand seemed a little uncomfortable intruding upon Double D's time with his friends, "We haven't seen you in a while?"

"You know, staying busy with school and work," Double D took a sip of his soda, using his parched lips as an excuse to not continue with his explanation.

"Making good grades I hope," his father added trying to break the tension he was feeling.

"Decent, it can be quite challenging for me at times," the biggest hurdle for Double D was his shortened attention span that he still suffered from at times, due to the events he went through at the hands of Nazz. But high B's with a few A's were still good in his opinion even if he had to struggle to keep his mind on task occasionally. His condition was way better than it had been in the beginning, but it was still there and might never go away totally from what he had been told.

"But you're doing your best I'm sure," his father smiled at him, "That's all anyone could ask for." At that point, the first category had ended and they were announcing the winners, and as Edina's name was called for second place, the three friends clapped and cheered for her. Edd Sr. turns back around to the group after Edina took her small trophy and asks, "Friend of yours?" Edd and Kevin answer in the affirmative, "She's very pretty."

"Yes, she is," just said longingly.

The next category was butch queen realness and both Justin and Kevin excuse themselves to head for the stage, Kevin getting a good luck kiss as he left. "I'm happy," his father pauses for a moment then continues, "That you have found someone."

"So, what brings you to town," Double D said harshly, he didn't feel chummy enough with the man just yet to discuss his relationship with Kevin. But quickly changed his expression to one of apology, "I'm sorry."

Edd Sr. started to say that it was alright but Nat buts in, "He's been friends with Alice for some time now."

"More like acquaintances," Edd corrected.

"So, when he saw that she's having this little shindig on Facebook," he waves over a waiter, "He really wanted to come, so here we are."

"And you just tagged along for the fun of it," Double D said as Nat ordered himself another bourbon and coke and Edd another vodka tonic, "Do you always talk for him?" He asked as he motioned toward his father.

"No, just if he needs me to, and that's usually only with aggressive people," Nat slipped a twenty on the tray, then turns back to Double D, "And I'm his friend, so why wouldn't I come along?" It seemed like more than that to Double D, but he wasn't going to argue the semantics of it with him.

And he had to admit that he always seemed to be uncharacteristically aggressive when it came to his biological father, "I'm sorry about the attitude, I'm still working on my feelings about this."

"That's quite alright Double D, I understand," Edd said as went to get up, "I'm sorry we intruded."

Nat was going to protest but Double D beat him to it, "No stay, I'd would like to talk."

The man stopped movement and readjusted in his seat, "If you're sure," Double D nods, "Alright, what should we talk about?"

"Anything really, it doesn't matter," his voice trails off, "We can just talk." Nat smiles warmly at the boy as Edd Sr.'s expression mirrored his own. Kevin takes the stage, putting on his best butch boy act, putting a little pimp walk in his step as he displayed himself for the judges. Double D giggles at his shenanigans, then puts his fingers in his mouth to do a cat call whistle at his fiancé causing both Nat and Edd to turn toward the stage, Kevin noticed Double D's attention, smiles and winks at him then kicks it up a notch more for his amusement.

"He's having fun," Nat states as he turns back around toward Double D.

"Yeah, he likes to make me laugh," he replied through his giggles.

"You're lucky to have met him," Edd stated, "You two seem to fit each other quite well."

"Thanks," Double D replied meekly, still feeling awkward talking about his relationship with Kevin with the man. Justin's turn was next and he did a football jock motif of mock passes or a linebacker stance at one point, earning a few laughs from the trio at the table with his tomfoolery. Neither boy placed however in the competition and returned to the table a moments later, having lost to one of the local drag kings. The conversation turned light from there, as Edd loosened up after his second vodka tonic and Nat had backed off from his over protective ways.

"What do you two do for a living," Kevin asked as he was a little curious about the two and Double D wasn't going to ask personal questions.

"I'm a CPA," Edd replied.

"And I am the general manager for a factory that makes parts for Ford," Nat added.

Since Justin didn't know he asked, "Are you two married?"

"No," Nat replied, "But we were in a relationship for nine years."

Double D's curiosity got the better of him, "How did that start?"

"I've known your father," he turns his head toward Edd, "Since you were what, fourteen?" Edd replies by shaking his head yes as he was he was finishing off his drink, "We've always been close, but a year after the divorce our friendship started to change gradually into something more serious and in '04 I moved down to be with your father, simple as that."

"Give or take a few minor details," Edd added.

The waiter drops off another round for both the older gentlemen and sodas for the younger ones, and as he walks away with his tray tucked under his arm Nat was staring, "Hmm, that boy's ass is as sweet as candy."

"My god Nat," Edd coughed as some of his drink had gone down the wrong pipe, "You were probably twenty or twenty-one when he was born."

"You make me sound like a perv when you say it like that," he replied as he picked up his drink.

"But you are a perv dear," Edd retorted and both Double D and Kevin were getting the impression that some aspects of this man had never gone past his teenage years, and Edd would agree with them if they voiced such an opinion.

The drag competition of the ball began with the category of fem queen in drag female figure performance and Edina was the first up, doing Moulin Rouge's Sparkling Diamonds. Justin was enraptured as he watched her dance around the stage in her sparkling corset dress, top hat and opera gloves. Nat noticing the boys affection, lifts his right hip and reaches into his back pocket to pull out his wallet, pulling a bill from it, "Go tip your girl," he says as he hands the money to Justin. Justin looks at the fresh fifty dollar bill in his hand and was about to protest, "Consider it a group tip, now scram," and Nat motions to the stage with his thumb over his shoulder. The boy wasted no time with the reassurance that it was alright and made his way to the stage post haste with the money in his hands, getting a sweet kiss once he tucked the bill in her guarder.

The two older men at the table were now nice and loose, now nursing their fourth drink, Nat becoming affectionate toward Edd as they sat there, placing his hand on his knee and gently massaging it. It was also in this loosened state that Edd decided to share with Nat a series of events that had happened earlier that morning. Pulling out his phone, he unlocks the device and opens up his Facebook app, Nat looks over at the phone curiously as he hits the friends requests tab in the upper section of the app, and Nat's jaw dropped as Edd positioned the phone so he could better see it. "Oh shit, he didn't."

Edd giggles and nods, he found it rather funny that this person would try to get ahold of him after all these years, "He even had Tina text me." He taps the home button on his phone and opens up his message app and hands the phone over to Nat.

Nat scrolls through the opening pleasantries between the two, "Tina Bear – 8:45am – A mutual acquaintance of ours got ahold of me today." Nat chuckled a little that Edd hadn't changed the nickname he gave Tina on his phone.

Edd's reply was simple, "Who."

Her reply was rather instant, which told Nat she hadn't got his text yet, "He asked me how you were doing, he must miss you, he should be sending you a Facebook request soon, I'm only asking you to try and be his friend with him alright."

Edd's reply was quick, he was always fast at typing, "Well I don't know who you're talking about so I can't tell you if it is alright."

Edd sees what part Nat is reading and adds, "I hopped in the shower at that point so I didn't get the next few texts for a minute."

Tina replied, "You remember my cousin Kevin, you two dated in high school, that's why I'm only asking you to give him a chance as friends. For me Double D, please."

Twenty minutes goes by on the time stamps before Edd replies, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Ms. Barr I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing, I only told you about us because we're good friends and we also have a mutual understanding about your family's views on people like us."

"I know, I'm sorry Edd, he just asked me how you were doing and I suggested that he reach out and find out for himself." The rest of the text which was only a few lines was Edd saying hell no and her apologizing a few more times as well as giving a few more reasons why he should give him a chance. The last line was her saying, "He's changed Double D, give him a chance," and that is where the conversation ends, for obviously Edd had given up on getting through to her.

Nat hands the phone back and asks, "You have your Facebook set up so anyone can see your posts, right?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing to hide."

Nat looks over at junior and Kevin, "Boys, whatcha say to a group photo with your dad?" Double D was hesitant at first but Kevin standing up to go over to his father made his mind up for him. Grouping together Nat opens the camera app and turns it so it used the selfie camera, "We need better light, come on guys," he states and leads them out of the show bar and into the well-lit strip bar. Standing in front of one of the strippers, who by the way was only wearing a hand towel he was holding in place, he groups everyone up and snaps the picture.

"You're going to get me band with this," Edd said pensively as he looked at the picture. Nat had his free arm around him, Kevin and Double D were standing beside him on the opposites side from Nat in a sweet embrace, the lower half of the stripper's legs positioned behind them.

"What you can only see his legs," he chuckled as he posted the picture of the four of them on Edd's timeline with the caption, "Having fun at The Dock,' tagging everyone in the picture. A wicked grin upon his face as the picture uploaded, and sweet satisfaction to know that their ex red headed friend would not only see that Edd was doing fine without him, but that his cousin was in a wonderful relationship with his ex's son, in the light, for everyone to see.

 **A/N- Just so there is no confusion Tina Barr is Samuel Barr's daughter, making her Kevin Anthony's (Loves Fool) Aunt and Kevin Richard's (Winged Cupid Painted Blind) cousin. She is also the director of the play that Alice (Eddward in Down the Rabbit Hole) is currently in with Rave and Kev. I know what a tangled web I weave, lol. She is also homosexual, but has not told her family because she saw what happened to Kevin Richard Barr when his parents discovered his relationship with Edd Sr. Sorry for the delay BTW but big chapters take longer.**


	72. Cherries and Berries

Chapter 72 – 12th Grade – Cherries and Berries

After posting the little family photo op, Nat turns to the stripper behind them and tips him, whispering into the young man's ear as he bent down to collect the money. Turning to Edd Sr. afterwards he says with a wicked grin upon his face, "Have a seat Edd, let me buy you a drink," as he pulled out the stool for his friend.

Taking his seat, Nat turns to order another round of their drinks as the stripper shimmies his way off the bar and into Edd's lap, "Nat, I'm going to kill you," the embarrassed man shrieks as the young man begins to grind his hips to the music.

Nat turns quickly around and takes another pic with Edd's phone before his salt and pepper haired friend could chicken out, focusing it upon Edd's blush covered face, only the shoulder and part of the stripper chest was in the picture. "Vodka tonic, five dollars, lap dance forty bucks, picture of your embarrassed friend as proof priceless." Edd's embarrassment stemmed from the fact that his son was present as this young man who was only wearing a hand towel was grinding his ass against Edd's unmentionables. He gives Nat an annoyed look after the picture was taken, the man giggled lightly at his friends pouting pissed off face, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist, he was right there and you so needed some booty shook in your direction."

Edd whispers into the ear of the stripper in his lap, "Thank you sir, you're quite lovely to look at but I've got to go." He quickly shimmies his way out from under the young man and off the bar stool heading toward the door of the strip bar with his son and Kevin in tow.

"Thanks cutie," Nat said to the young man giving him a wink as he slapped his bare ass.

"Any time stud," the young man replied and began to climb back up onto the bar as Nat turned to catch up to his three companions and hand Edd back his phone. Noticing the embarrassed look upon Double D's face and Kevin's look of annoyed concern for his fiancé's father. He realized that maybe he had overstepped a boundary just a little because his son was there and they were still getting comfortable with each other. But he quickly shrugged it off because he knew Edd would forgive his antics because Edd knew that's who he was, and not to take him to seriously, and he knew they would laugh about it later in life anyways.

Entering the show bar Edd Sr.'s phone vibrates in his pocket, taking it out he unlocks the device and sees that he got a notification on Facebook. Opening the app, not only does he realize that Nat had posted the stripper pic he just took a moment ago but that Alice had already commented on it. "I hope you hurt **Nat** for doing that to you," a second later Nat's reply comes in, "You know me **Alice Anderson** , it was too tempting not to." Alice's quick reply pops up, "That's real mature of you," and Edd felt he had to step in before it go to the point of killing each other, "Now children, please no arguing LOL, and **Nat** 's already been forgiven **Alice**." An emoji from Nat a second later with its tongue sticking out and Edd locks his phone putting it back into his pocket, ignoring the stream of vibrations that followed for the next minute.

Sitting back at their table they joined Justin and Edina, who was now finished with her competition for the night but was still in her costume. Kevin leans over to Edd Sr. and tries to stay as quiet as he could against the loud music, "Are you doing alright?"

"Yes, I am fine," Edd looked perplexed, "Why?"

"You looked really embarrassed back there," Kevin replied, "If you're worried about him judging you don't, he wouldn't do that."

"He looked mortified," Edd said in a nervous tone.

"Oh that, he was probably feeding off your emotions, you know feeling embarrassed for you," Kevin patted him on the shoulder, "So don't worry, I can tell that he is warming up to you."

"Thank you, Kevin," Edd smiled at him, "I am glad that my son, I mean Double D, has you in his life."

Kevin was going to open his mouth to tell him how much his son meant to him but a smack to the back of Nat's head and Alice stating, "I am not an old maid," drew their attention.

"Sometimes you act like it," Nat responded.

"And your nothing but a little boy," she retorted.

"I'm older then you, you know."

"Sometimes I wonder about that," she said in an annoyed tone.

"While we have you here," Edd interrupted trying to change the subject, he motioned for Nat to continue.

"Oh yeah," he pulls out a folded-up envelope from his pocket, handing it to her, "We took up a collection at our jobs for you."

"And added a little more from us," Edd added, "It's not much but every little bit helps."

Opening the envelop she finds a cashiers check made out to her for the sum of one-thousand-dollars, overjoyed with the gift from these two she kisses Edd on the cheek, "Thank you," her happiness and appreciation was noticeable in her voice.

She leans over to kiss Nat on the cheek as well, but before she could he gives her a teasing look and asks, "Am I forgiven?"

"No, but it's a start," she smacks him on the shoulder playfully then gives him a quick peck on the cheek and whispers, "Thank you." She greeted each at the table affectionately, pausing at Edina, "You did great tonight."

"Thanks," she replied, but unfortunately Edina didn't even place during the drag competition this time, the other queens who performed had more experience and an image to go with it, and sometimes favorites win.

"You'll do better next time," she gave her a side hug, "Trust me." Releasing the hug, she turned to the group and addresses them all, "If you all will excuse me, there are a few more people I have to speak to before the night is out," She took her leave and waved goodbye as she walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

The rest of the night was spent in light conversation between the group, Edina and Justin started off talking amongst themselves, fine tuning her performance. Justin giving her his opinion on what he had noticed from the audience's point of view, Edina taking his opinion in stride, making a few mental notes on what she could do differently. Edd, Nat, Kevin and Double D were in their own little world getting to know each other better. With a gentle prod from Kevin, Double D defended his father's honor from Nat's earlier antics in the form of a quip about the man's childish behavior, starting a back and forth teasing match between the two men.

Jokes and laugher were made and the ice was broken between the four of them with easy conversation and the telling of life stories. "Dear God not again," Edd remarked as Nat was explaining one of his friends fascination with B grade horror movies and a certain childhood favorite of theirs was brought up.

"See, he over reacts about it every time," Nat chuckled as he spoke.

"Yeah, well we probably watched that one a thousand times," Edd responded as he sat down his empty glass.

"And that number goes up to every time," Nat pointed out, still laughing.

"I've got the damn thing seared into my memory," and he begins in bad dramatic style, mimicking the movie, "Officer, she's turning all the hookers into zombies, soon no one will be safe." He softly laughs to himself as he ended his monolog, remembering fond childhood memories associated with their shared love of the genre.

"So how are your friends doing these days," Double D asks.

"Well let see, Ed married May after high school and now they own a head shop here in Summerville," he pulls out his phone and opens the Facebook app, "You've probably heard of it, The Omniverse." He shows them the stores page on his phone, "It sells everything from bongs to comic books, to hard to find B grade movies."

"Yeah, we've heard of it," Kevin states in mild shock that his soon to be father in-law knew the owners of the locally famous store, "We've just never been." Thought it's home was in Summerville, every kid in Peach Creek worth their salt knew of the Omniverse. If you had an interest in the stoner culture, whether you smoked or not, that was the place to go. For memorabilia, t-shirts, comics, posters or hardware there was no finer place to get it, they housed a wide selection from geek to punk.

"We'll have to change that," Nat said to the two boys, the smirk on his face was forming an idea.

"You have to be pulling our legs," Double D said in disbelief, "You're telling me you know the owners."

"Yeah," he turns his phone where he could see it and opens the photos on the page clicking on the first one then presents it to Double D. The caption said opening day 1998 with my best friend and his family, Alice and oh yeah Nat. In the picture stood Nat on the far left with Edd standing beside him, his arms wrapped around Nat and Leslie. Beside her stood a tall goofy looking man Double D assumed to be Ed, holding his wife May and next to her stood a young Alice. "You're in the picture too," Edd stated as he pointed to Leslie's belly which was just barely showing that she was carrying a baby.

Double D looked at the photo affectionately, everyone looked so happy together in the picture, this was probably the first photo he has seen of his mother and biological father together. When Double D was three and the separation began as the divorce proceedings started, his mother removed all evidence of the man from her life. She then began filling the photo albums up with pictures of her and Double D, these photos slowly began to include Tony in them a year later. Nat spoke up after finishing his drink, "What are you two doing tomorrow? We could hit up the Omniverse, go to lunch and maybe catch a movie if you want."

Double D and Kevin looked at each other as Edd protested, "Nat, they probably need the day to do their homework before school on Monday."

"Naw, we've already done that, Edd insisted we get it done on Friday," Kevin stated as Nat raised an knowing brow at his friend, like father like son. "The only thing is we rode down here with Edina and Justin."

"That's no problem, you can stay the night with us and well take you home tomorrow," Nat reassured them.

"But we only have one room," Edd protested.

"With two beds," Nar retorted, "I'm pretty sure they don't mind sleeping together and I know you don't have a problem sleeping with me." Edd tried to stammer off a protest to Nat's drunken flirtation as Double D hide a chuckle at the implication on both fronts.

"We'd love to stay," Double D said after he contained his mild laughter.

"You sure babe?"

"Yes, we can stop off at Wal-Mart and pick up some essentials before we go to the hotel," he smiled, "It will be fun, besides I can prod his friend for some more dirt," he looked at his father with a teasing grin.

"Oh dear," Edd said nervously reaching up for a beanie that wasn't there, but was instead upon his son's head. The ball ended a short while later with Alice thanking everyone once again for coming and helping them exceed their goals, last call followed in a half hour. Neither of the older men were in a fall down drunken state, but Double D still didn't feel comfortable allowing them to drive. It only took a few minutes of mild persuasion from both Edd's for Nat to hand over the keys to his car, giving them the address of the hotel and their room number to bring the car there. Edina and Justin offered to take the two inebriated individuals to their hotel while Kevin and Double D went to get what they needed from the store.

The group went to Nat's car first so Double D and Kevin knew which one it was, Nat telling them to take care of his baby the entire time they walked to the car. The two young men climbed into the black 2016 Mustang GT with white racing stripes down the length of the body starting on the front bumper, but before Kevin could close the driver side door Nat calls out, "You better not put a scratch on her."

Turning the key, the V8 engine roared into life and Kevin felt like a kid in a candy store with a fresh twenty-dollar bill in his hand. Barely taping the accelerator, the car backed out of the parking space quicker then Kevin had anticipated, causing the adrenaline to start pumping through his system, and a wicked grin to form on his face. Putting it into first gear he sends the car flying down the road tires squealing, Nat yelling as they pass, "My baby," as though he would never see her again. Kevin shifts through the gears quickly picking up speed, looking down he sees that he was hitting fifty now on these thirty-five MPG roads, but the cars smooth ride made it feel like they were only going thirty. Easing back on the acceleration he slowed the vehicle down, having to remind himself that this wasn't his car and that he needed to be careful with it, for paying off a machine like this was not something he ever wanted to do unless he got to park it in his garage.

Hitting the interstate Kevin was now able to put the car through her paces as Edd casually tapped on the GPS in the center console finding a store near to where they would be stay tonight. Weaving in and out of the early Sunday morning traffic, they took the off ramp to exit the interstate and get onto the Rosa Parks freeway that looped the city, easily taking the curve. Back on a straightaway he accelerated to the now sixty-five MPH speed limit quickly and just a little beyond, "You're enjoying this aren't you," Edd asked casually.

"Yes, I am," Kevin answered as he slowed down to take the exit the GPS told him to, "Tell your dad I like his friend."

"You can tell him yourself, if you want."

"On second thought, we'll make him work for it," they pulled into the parking lot of the all night supercenter and jumped out, quickly doing their shopping to get the things they would need, a change of underwear, toothbrushes, clean shirts, socks and toiletries. Once again squealing the tires of the muscle car as they exited the parking lot, getting back on the main road following the directions of the GPS to the address that Nat had given them. Kevin was being mindful of his speed on the main roads, which is why it came as a shock to him when a set of red and blue lights turned on right behind him. "Ah shit," he exclaimed as he turned on the blinker to pull over to the side of the road, Edd seeing the flashing lights opened the glove box to find the registration. Stopping on the shoulder they breathed a sigh of relief as the cop car drove on past them at break neck speeds, eager to get to wherever they were needed. Pulling back on the road, Kevin was doubly mindful of his speed as they made their way down the road for the last ten minutes of their trip.

Entering the hotel, the lobby was that corporate simulation of inviting, fake fireplace against the wall with a couch and two leather high back chairs surrounding a coffee table, but the space they are in is so small it is anything but inviting. They explain to the clerk behind the desk that they were here to meet one of the guests that was already checked in and headed up to the third floor using the elevator. The hallway of the third floor was that bland minimalistic motif of tan carpet, off white walls and no decoration, each door the same color with a number plague beside it. Finding room three-o-eight Kevin reaches up and knocks, both men hearing the hurried footsteps on the other side coming toward them. The door swings open quickly, Nat's relieved face greeting them, "Is my baby alright?"

"No, she's a fiery heap of twisted metal in the ditch somewhere on the Rosa Parks Freeway," Double D said as he entered the room, "We, on the other hand, were miraculously unharmed and made our way here, the taxi is outside wanting fifty bucks."

"Dee," Nat calls over his shoulder, "Your sons a smartass." Kevin hands over the keys to him and follows Double D into the room, smiling and patting Nat on the shoulder. "I wonder where he gets that from," Nat said to himself as he pocketed the keys.

Edd was sitting upon the bed in his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, he turns off the TV and turns his attention to his son, "Did you all have any problems getting here?" Both boys answer that they didn't, "Good, we almost got arrested however."

Edd begins to describe the events that happened after they parted ways, climbing into Edina's car the four of them pull out of the parking space with Edina driving. Nat pulls out his pack of cigarettes, putting a joint in his mouth lighting the spliff up, passing it the tradition left handed way around the car. The conversation was lively, with a few remarks from Edina saying how she was happy to meet Double D's father and that she hoped to see more of him in the future, Justin mirroring her comments.

Five minutes after the joint was extinguished the group gets a rude wakeup call as Edina says, "Cherries and Berries," to inform them all that a cop was behind them. Pulling over to the side of the road, the cop parks behind them, getting out of his vehicle, his hand resting upon his guns holster, his flashlight in the other one. Edina rolls down the window as the officer walks up, "License and registration please."

"Good evening officer," Edina said nervously as she hands the documents over, looking up at the young cops seeing that he still had a baby face.

The officer looked at the license then flashed the light from the document to her face then back to the license, "Can you step out of the car please."

Edina did as she was instructed to, the three remaining in the car watched nervously as he lead her back to his police cruiser and sat her in the passenger side, getting in the driver side himself. Fifteen minutes went by before Edina and the cop exited the vehicle again and made their way back to the car, the cop leaning down and flashing his light into the vehicle, "Can anyone else drive?"

"I can," Justin said quickly, the cop escorts Edina over to the passenger side as Justin opens the door, stepping out as the cop stood in front of him.

Edd and Nat could hear the cop tell them, "Hurry up and get home and pay attention to the traffic laws."

"Yes sir," Justin replied and headed to the other side of the vehicle.

"Take care ma'am," the cop said as he closed the door for Edina and leaned down once again, "You all have a good night," looking at each of them.

As the car pulled forward slowly Nat asked, "So what the hell did we do?"

"I ran a stop sign," Edina said apologetically, and the three of them laugh now that the tension was alleviated, "What, I didn't see it, we were lucky he let me off with a warning and didn't smell your skunk weed."

"Oh, he smelled it," Nat replied, "He probably just didn't want to put you through the hell of getting arrested dressed as a woman and being put in a cell full of men." Justin takes her hand and intertwines their fingers.

"And that was our little adventure," Edd said finishing their story.

"Poor Edina," Double D said softly.

"Yeah, I would have probably been shitting myself if I were in her shoes," Nat said, "Even though I don't look good in heels."

"I'm just glad none of you went to jail," Kevin added, "But it's getting late, we should probably get to bed."

"Yeah," Edd said standing up to pull down the blanked of the bed, "You're probably right." Doubled D and Kevin head toward the bathroom to get ready, "We'll see you in the morning." He climbed into the bed, Nat quickly follows him, saying his goodnights he rolls over to face away from him as Edd unlocks his phone to scroll through his notifications on Facebook.

Seeing the little fight between Nat and Alice from earlier, and the addition of one more from the red head he knew so many years ago, "You look like you're having fun, too bad we missed each other."

"Kevin, just take the hint already," he breathed as he locked his phone and put it on the charger.


	73. The Omniverse

Chapter 73 – 12th Grade – The Omniverse

Edd walked down Peach Creek Dr. next to the tall handsome red head that was quickly capturing his heart. And boy was his heart taking a nose dive as it was falling in love with the slightly older boy beside him, each minute they spent talking about poetry, music and Shakespeare drew him closer to the object of his affection. Entering the McDonalds parking lot at the end of the cruising strip, the red head offered to buy him something to eat as his stomach had betrayed him the instant he had smelled the food inside. Edd smiled shyly and accepted the offer given him and both boys walking toward the door, his companion graciously holding it open so he could enter first.

Stepping inside Edd found himself walking out of a barn and into the front yard of a well maintained farm house, a bonfire burning brightly in the yard. The air was chilly this mid-October night as the party continued inside the barn, a set of girls laughing at the prank they had just pulled. Looking off into the distance he sees a young African American male chasing after the girl of his dreams. His red headed companion was now pulling him along by the wrist, leading him around the wooden structure, seeking a moment of piece away from the ruthless teenagers inside as well as to calm his anger.

Stepping around the building they were now walking up the pathway towards the front door of his companion's home, a car pulling away behind them as they made their way up the path. Opening the door and stepping through, Edd was now in his pajama bottoms inside a bathroom needing to spit the salty substance in his mouth out. Doing so and rinsing the taste out of his mouth and the semen down the drain he walks out of the room and back down the hall. Finding his companion in his bed, back toward him, a pillow and blanket on the floor.

Laying down upon the makeshift bed the scene shifts around him and he is now in an open field under a tree gazing at the stars, his companion spooning with him, whispering poetry in his ear. Another shift and they are now upon the floor of Nat's room, their teal haired friend asleep in the bed as the red head tries to kiss him. Quickly leaving the room he is now in the bathroom gazing into dazzling green eyes as the red strokes them both in the same hand. The scene shifts once again and Edd is mounting his love, losing his virginity in the red heads bed, to sweet kisses and loving words. Another shift and he is pressed against the locker bank, once again looking into those green eyes he had come to love so much. But they were not returning his love this time, as the red heads fist slams into the locker next to Edd's head as angry words came from the mouth he had just been kissing.

Jolted awake by the sudden impact next to his head, Edd Sr. turns his head toward the bedside table and looks at the small clock the hotel provided for their guest, it was now nearly six. He had only been asleep for maybe an hour at most, the blonde next to him mildly stirs from his slumber when his body jerked awake and wraps his arm around him pulling him in close. "It's alright," he says in a sleep voice, "It was just a bad dream," nuzzling his nose into the back of Edd's neck he quickly falls back to sleep. Snoring softly, Nat's thumb caressed Edd's chest in slow movements as Edd looked over at his son who was being lovingly held by his fiancé.

The cousin of the man who broke his heart all those years ago, but he knew he had nothing to fear with these two, they were stronger and braver then he and his ex-lover had ever been. The peaceful way they embraced one another in their sleep, Double D's head resting upon Kevin's chest, Kevin's arms holding him close told Edd that they would be alright. Rolling over he faces Nat and adjust to get comfortable once again, quickly falling back to sleep in the comforting arms of his friend. Waking a few hours later when said friend flicked him a few times upon the ear playfully, Edd gave him an evil look until a Styrofoam cup of coffee and some aspirin for the hangover was placed within reach, "Thank you." Looking over at the other bed he sees that it is now empty, "Where are the boys?"

"Downstairs already, eating the complimentary continental breakfast," Nat replies and points to the clock.

Looking over as he sat up, he sees that it was only nine o'clock, rolling his eyes he pops two aspirin in his mouth and swallows then takes a sip of his coffee before getting out of bed sluggishly. "It's days like this that reminds me that I am no longer a teenager and can survive on a few hours a sleep, especially after a night of drinking."

"Just remind yourself as you suffer your hangover that you wanted to come," Nat said sitting upon the bed when Edd started to gather his clothes for the day.

"Thank you for coming with me, also remind me to thank Alice."

"Already took care of that."

Edd turns to head toward the bathroom, "And how much damage control am I going to have to do with that thank you?"

"None," Nat huffed, "I didn't tease her or anything," and the bathroom door closed ending Edd's involvement in the conversation.

Walking toward the rooms door he calls through the bathroom door as he passed, "I'm going down to have breakfast with the boys, join us when you're ready." He gets a muffled acknowledgment to his statement before he steps out of the room and into the hall. Thirty minutes later Edd is showered, dressed and downstairs eating a bagel with cream cheese as well as enjoying another cup of coffee as he texted his friend to see if he and his wife would personally be in the shop today.

Getting a favorable reply from his friend that they would in fact be there that day, the four men spent the time before the store opened at noon that Sunday by catching an early movie. Afterwards as they were on their way to the store the two older men gave their two younger companions some insight into the man they would be meeting. Explaining that he was boisterous, goofy and a bit of a hugger, facts they were to discover rather quickly as they entered the shop. Ed looked up from the paperwork he was doing in the office to check the monitor when he heard the bell above the shop door ring, something he always did out of habit anyways, but was anxiously doing today. Seeing that familiar beanie walk into his store, he stops what he was doing and rushes out of the office making a B-line straight to the group crying out, "Dee."

Wrapping his arms around the man lifting him up into a crushing bear hug, Double D wiggled a little in his embrace chocking out, "I can't breathe."

Edd places his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Ed, put my son down please."

The big guy blinks a few times looking at the young man in his arms before putting him back on the floor, "Sorry Dee," then quickly grabs his friend up in a hug. Depositing him back on the floor a short moment later he looks back at the young man standing beside the red head and breaths out, "Shit, Déjà vu." Edd and Nat both give him a knowing look as he extended his right hand to the young man, "It's great to see you again little Dee."

Taking the hand, he gives it a light shake, "Double D," he corrects.

"Ok," Ed cocks a brow and both Nat and Edd shrug in a I don't know fashion when he looked their direction with a side eye glance. Turning to Kevin he extends his hand, "And you must be Kevin, his father has told me a little about you."

Taking the hand offered, "It's nice to meet you" giving it a firm shake.

Releasing his grip, he returns his gaze to Double D and ruffles the beanie on top of his head, "God this old thing brings back some memories," he said as he removed his hand from the hat, "There's a funny story behind it too." Both boys look at the man intently, hoping for some yarn about Edd's father, "Your mother sent me this thing, you know when it all went down. But called me a day after she put it in the mail asking for it back."

"Why," Kevin asked.

"Seems our little Dee here wouldn't stop crying for it," he chuckled ruffling up the hat once again.

"Security blankets," Nat stated as he walked off to peruse the store.

"I don't recall any such thing," Double D said looking all embarrassed about it.

"Well you were three," Ed replied as a smile crossed his face, "Hey Dee," he looked to his old friend, "I'm going to take these two to the back, I've got a little something for them."

"Alright, we'll be out here," he says as walks away to join Nat as the three of them headed toward Ed's office.

Sitting in his desk chair he opens the bottom drawer of his desk and pulls out a photo album, opening it to the first page he begins to regale them with stories of their childhood. The first was a photo of a clubhouse they built and the accompanying story that went with it on how the girls took it from them, then a photo of a wrestling match between them and those same girls. Flipping a few pages Kevin laughs at a photo of the big guy eating a pool full of gelatin, "What, I was hungry," Ed responded to his laughter. A few more laughs were also had when they came upon a photo of a guy dressed up as a super hero and the name that accompanied it, Captain Melonhead.

"God, you guys were nuts," Kevin stated between laughter.

"Yeah, those were crazy times," the big guy replied as he looked at the photos fondly.

Flipping the pages a few more times, they came upon a group photo that was taken at a restaurant. In the photo, the group was dressed up as different characters from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, occupying two booths. The occupants were, Nat, Ed, his father, two of the three girls, two adults he assumed to be one of their parents and a familiar looking red head. "Who's that," Double D asked as he pointed at the unknown individual.

"That's, um, he's ah, your cousin," Ed replied as he looked up at Kevin.

"He looks like he was really close to my, Dad," Double D stated as he examined the picture.

Kevin gave him a side glance as this was the first time he had used that word in regards to his biological father. "Yeah, they dated for a short time in high school," Ed answered as he closed the book, "That break up hit your father hard."

"Why would a simple high school break up hurt him so much," Kevin asked and Ed gave them a curious look, "Sorry he didn't go into much detail and we're just a little curious.'

"Well let me ask you a question, if Edd here broke up with you that would hurt, right?" Kevin nodded, "Now what if he all of the sudden started dating a girl right after, wouldn't that bring into question every time he said he loved you?" Kevin nodded again, "See his father was already at odds with who he was at the time, and this Kevin," he taps the photo album, "Told him he loved him very much. Then he apparently got what he wanted and tossed him aside like yesterday's garbage to start dating the head cheerleader." He gave them a moment to let that all sink in before he continued, "So with the way he was feeling about himself along with all the stereotypes you always hear about gay people, then add on top of all that the break up. So he gave up and decided that maybe that's all gay relationships were about, just sex. So, he pushed that part of himself aside, thinking that just maybe a straight relationship would give him what he wanted and started dating your mother a year later."

Double D had to pose the question, "Why didn't you talk some sense into him?"

"Believe me we tried," he sighed, "But your father can be a stubborn guy when he wants to be. Now don't get it wrong he loved your mother, don't you ever think otherwise, it just took him a few years to realize that he couldn't be with her in the ways he should be."

A knock at the door disturbed their conversation, the door opens Edd popped his head in the office, "Hey, how's it going guys?"

Ed opens the bottom drawer again and puts the photo album back in it, "Oh just giving the boys a history lesson."

"Telling them nothing but good things I hope," he said as he leaned against the door frame.

"Nothing but," Kevin replied.

"Cool," Edd said only coming off as a father trying to act hip.

"Hey Dee, why don't you let me take the boys home," Ed asked, "It will save you two a couple of hours on the road and you look beat man."

"That's up to them," he replied motioning to the two younger men.

"It will be fine, Mr. Hill can take us home," Double D stated.

"Hey, Mr. Hill's my father," Ed said in a mock exasperated tone.

Double D smiled at him in apology, then addressed his father again, "Besides he's right, you need to get home and get some rest."

"Alright if you're sure," Edd was a little disappointed by this, he was looking forward to maybe seeing the apartment they called home, but knew there would be other opportunities later. They spent another hour at the store looking around at the various things it had to offer before saying their goodbyes to one another and heading home.


	74. Reindeer Games

Chapter 74 – 12th Grade – Reindeer Games

The holiday break started the following weekend for the group of friends, this holiday season was special for Kevin and Edd in that it was the first they would be celebrating in their own home. The parents wanting to respect their independence had decided it was time to replace their old tree, offering to give it to them instead of just tossing it out. But in truth the tree was only two years old making it easy for Edd to see through their rues, but he would not begrudge them their desire to help them build memories of their own. Along with the tree came several ornaments that Edd remembered from his childhood, those kinds of things that have sentiment and memories attached to them. From the little ornament of Mickey and Minnie caroling, to the angel that sat on top of the tree even the oversized decorated stocking with Edd's name upon it along with a new matching one for Kevin.

The only thing they had to buy for themselves was the lights and garland, in their excitement for the season they went kind of overboard. First came their justifications that it was a good deal at twenty percent off, the next one was the fact that Edd had a good night with tips last night the last one was that Kevin was getting an extra paycheck this month to help cover the bills. So not only did they get decorations but they did some extra Christmas shopping, getting little things for their friends and a few toys for the godson. Learning quickly that there is a fine line between a deal and oh my god we spent too much. Arriving home that evening of the first Saturday of their Christmas break with an armload of bags each, they spent the remainder of that night wrapping gifts and decorating their home. Outlining the three large front facing windows of their bedroom in Christmas lights, with a cross section of lights, made them look like oversized presents to those who saw them from the street.

"Do you think it's too much," Edd asked after he plugged them in and took a step back to admire their handy work.

"Nah," Kevin came to stand beside his love, wrapping his arm around his shoulder, "It's perfect," kissing him on the temple. Edd turns his head guiding Kevin's lips to his own with a gentle touch to his jaw, quickly pouring their need for the others touch into that kiss. Leading his love over to the bed, Kevin reaches over and turns off the overhead light, leaving them to bask in the gentle glow of the Christmas lights. Joining their lips again, Edd climbs into the bed backwards as Kevin crawls in over top of him, laying his head upon the pillows he slides his hand down the back of Kevin's pants, kneading his perfect ass. Enjoying the taste of the other, they grind their hips together, their caged packages rubbing against one another, begging to be set free from their confinement.

So how should I describe this kiss that Kevin only broke long enough to pull Edd's shirt off and with a greedy need continued it as quickly as he could. In the hierarchy of kisses three types stand out to me, there is the quick kiss you give to a loved one as they leave for the day, or as they wake up or go to bed. Then there is the passion filled fumbling kiss of a sexual partner in the throes of a physical need to express their desire for you. Then there is this kiss, a blend of passion, love, desire and a need for the others affection, it is as soft and gentle as silk brushing against your cheek, but is as willful and strong as a starving lover craving more. A perfect balance between passion and love, desire and affection, carnal pleasure and pure romance, our boys could lose themselves in the touch of the other's lips. As the world around them would fall away and time would stand still, until the only two people left in the universe was them. The only thing that mattered to one, was the other, the only thing that made them whole was the others heart beating beside their own, their love for each other strengthening them and making the world right.

Slowly licking his way down Edd's body, he takes the hem of his pants in his teeth and undoes the top button. Sucking the clasp of his zipper into his mouth, he grips it with his teeth and slowly unzips those pants while looking up into Edd's flushed face. Mouthing him through his underwear, working upon the head of his cock until it slides out from under the waist band, sucking and licking upon it. Savoring the taste of precum that oozed from the tip as Edd's hands ran through his hair moaning softly at the warm wet sensation that enveloped him. Shimming the man out of his pants, he deposited them upon the floor, taking a moment to admire the handsome figure of his love that now lay naked upon the bed for him to ravish as he saw fit.

He quickly takes his own shirt off, dropping it to the floor next to the pants before he returned his attention to Edd, fanning the flames of their desire. On all fours, he sucked upon the head, lifting it up so it was in line with his mouth before sliding down upon it, giving his head a little twist as he slides down and back up. Reaching for the waist of Kevin's jeans, undoing them hastily, freeing Kevin from their confinement he repositions himself and returns the favor to his love. Moaning harshly around Kevin's meat when his love started to massage the head of his cock with his tongue then swallowing him down his throat. Edd was close but he didn't care, Kevin's attention was driving him mad and he needed the sweet pleasure of release that only he could bring him. Each moan that came from Kevin's throat sent a shiver running through his body, each twitch of Kevin's cock when he did what he knew the man loved excited him. The world spun as his cock engorged itself even more in Kevin's mouth, twitched and spilled its seed, a low guttural moan escaping his lung, being breathed out into the world through his nose as he continued his attention upon Kevin. His love following him a moment later as he buried himself in the back of Edd's throat, spilling his seed as Edd swallowed him.

He twitched for a few seconds, eyes closed as the waves of his orgasm crashed through his body, a shaky breath escaping his lips. Falling over to lay beside his love, his head resting on Edd's leg he stroked his loves stomach with the back of his hand, "I love you."

"I love you too," Edd said as he reached for that hand, playing with each other's fingers affectionately. Rolling over on his stomach he looked at the Christmas light strewn up in their windows, "I'm happy." Kevin repositioned himself so he was on all fours again, kissing the arch of Edd's back, humming out quizzically, "I'm happy that this is all ours," a kiss between the shoulder blades, "And that no one can take it from us." A kiss to the nap of the neck, "And the most important thing is," Kevin comes around his shoulder and they look into each other's eyes, "I'm happy that I'm here with you."

A deep kiss, breaking it he brings their foreheads together, "You have no idea how happy I am that we are here together." A quick kiss to the nose, words were not enough, he would have to show him again how much he meant to him. Finally stripping his pants off, he gives Edd a deep passionate kiss as he climbed on top of him, his chest pressed against Edd's back. Kissing and licking his way down his back, the delicious feel of Edd's supple ass sliding against his stomach then his toned chest as he positioned himself between his legs. The flames of Edd's passion once again rising with the sensual touch Kevin applied to each of his sensitive spots that his fiancé knew like that back of his hand.

Spreading his ass cheeks, he feasts upon his lover's hole, lapping his tongue across it, Edd twitching at the pleasurable sensation that enveloped his being from his lover's touch. Rocking his hips in time as Kevin drew his tongue across his flesh, his already stiffing cock rubbing against the bed sheets, soiling them with his precum. In the heat of the moment none of that mattered, the dirty sheets or the embarrassing position he was in, only the fact that Kevin loved him mattered. Massaging those beautiful ass cheeks while working his tongue, his cock already about to explode again listening to the music of his fiancé's moans. "Kevin, please, I, need, you," he said between pants.

Acknowledging Edd's need and his own, he reaches over to the bedside table to retrieve the lube. Edd roles over once Kevin had moved and gets up on his knees, taking in his handsome fiancé. The way his chest heaved with each breath, the way his hands still trembled with excitement as he fumbled around the drawer looking for the lube, his cock pulsing with each beat of his heart. Finding what he was looking for he pulls it out of the drawer and closes it, Edd's hand gently taking it from him. Pouring a generous amount into the palm of his hand, he slowly strokes it onto Kevin, joining their lips together as he performs the act. Lubing himself up as well he climbs into his lap, positioning him where he needed to be, he slowly slides down the length, pausing here and there to rock his hips to help his muscles loosen up before proceeding further.

Hilting, Edd's mouth was wide as the signs of bliss danced across his face, "Let it out babe," Kevin urged as he wanted to hear the man's pleasure. Lifting his hips, a low moan escaped him as the massaging of his prostate was sending waves of pleasure through his body that felt like electricity.

Sliding down at a quicker pace, the moan became louder, joining their lips to muffle that noise, panting between them, "Oh god I love you." Kevin returned his love through muffled words between those frantic kisses, "You are mine forever?" A want, a need, a deep desire to leave his mark on Kevin's very soul burned brightly in his own, so that when they left this world there would be no doubt to the angels above whose heart the other belongs to.

"Forever," Kevin breathed is reply, kissing his neck, Edd's arms firmly wrapped around his shoulders, head thrown back the only sounds he could make now were the moans that escaped his lips. Both their bodies were slick with sweat, Kevin tasting it upon the flesh of the collar bone he sucked upon, Edd felt it as he ran his fingers through drenched red hair. Kevin's breath had become ragged, his moans in time with the thrust of Edd's hips, Edd could now manage one word as he sang the praises of god in heaven.

Kevin was getting close again and places a hand over Edd's cock, letting it rub between his stomach and hand with the thrusting of his hips. Both men climaxing together, clashing their lips together as the orgasm rolled over them, Edd's spunk flying hitting them both in the chest. Edd continued to rock his hips as he rode out his orgasm, Kevin taking in quick sharp breaths at the sensation of his now very sensitive cock. Collapsing on to his fiancé, chest to chest, they kissed deeply as Edd's brain slowly started to process the slick sensation that was between the two of them.

Pealing himself off Kevin his germ-a-phobic self was in high gear now, "It's your cum," Kevin teased seeing that familiar look in his eyes.

"I know but still."

Kevin could see the messy, messy, messy fit coming on, "Come on, let's take a shower." Edd dismounted and Kevin followed him to the bathroom, giving him a smack on the ass, "So you know, I like you messy." The shower was warm and relaxing, pampering each other as they cleaned the sweat and semen off the other, Kevin teasing him with a few more playful smacks to the ass. Loving kisses were exchanged and Edd had to remind him, as Kevin's body reacted, that it was already late and they needed to get to sleep, so round three would have to wait for another time.

Finishing drying his hair as he walked back into the bedroom, Edd heads to the dresser to retrieve their pajama's. Kevin seeing the notification light on Edd's phone blinking as he steps into the room, he picks it up and unlocks the device, "Hey babe, your mother and grandmother have called."

It was almost eleven at night what could they be wanting at this hour, Kevin taps the voice mail as Edd mused, "I wonder what for?"

Kevin puts in the password and listen to the automated voice spout off all the relative information, number of voice mails three, date time and phone number before it played the first message, "Edd, it's your grandmother, call me back." The woman's voice sounded on the verge of tears, second voice mail, "Edd it's your mother, you need to call me." Her voice sounded concerned and worried, third voice mail, it was his mother again, "Edd, we are headed to Summerville University Hospital, it's your grandfather, call me back when you get this."

"Babe," Kevin said and Edd stopped what he was doing, the concerned look in Kevin's eyes and the tone of his voice told him that whatever they needed was urgent.


	75. Under the Knife

Chapter 75 - 12th Grade – Under the Knife

 **A/N- This chapter is dedicated to my father.**

Edd looked out the passenger side window of the car as Kevin sped down the rural highway to Summerville, holding Edd's hand, reassuring his love that he could lean on him when he needed to. Edd was replaying the conversation he had with his mother fifty minutes ago at the start of the trip. "From what I can gather from your father, your grandfather started puking up blood about two hours ago. The hospital in Evansville noticed something was definitely going on with his aneurism and decided to send him to Summerville University Hospital by chopper.

"Did they happen to hazard a guess on what might be happening?"

"They weren't for sure what it could be, that's why they went ahead and sent him. Summerville has the best heart surgeons in the area, so they will probably already know what's going on by the time you get here." She paused for a moment as Tony spoke in the background, "Your dad wants me to tell you that if we find out anything, we'll call you and let you know. But we're almost at the hospital so I should let you go, I love you."

"I love you too," Edd's breath hitched, "Be sure to call us if you hear anything," although she had just said that he couldn't help to repeat it.

"We will," she replied, the depth of his worry was evident in the tone of his voice. They have yet to hear anything form them, Kevin and Edd were now crossing the bridge to enter Summerville, they would be arriving at the hospital in the next ten minutes. Parking their car quickly in the hospitals multilevel garage, they entered the hospital through the second-floor walkway that connected the two buildings. Sending a text to his dad as they crossed, he gets a quick reply that they were on the 4th floor in room 410. Taking the elevator, they arrive on the floor and quickly find the room, knocking upon the door they hear his mother's tired voice bid them to enter.

The time was ten at night when they stepped into that room, lying on the bed was his grandfather Jeffery, a breathing tube and feeding tube going down his throat, his eyes closed, his chest expanding and contracting unnaturally due to the ventilator. EKG wires, blood pressure monitor, IV line and various other wires and tubes were attached to him. "They had to induce a medical comma," his mother said from her seat next to the bed, "They said that he kept pulling tubes and wires out, saying he wanted to go home, plus they couldn't get the pain he was in under control."

"Why would he do that?" He asks as he came to stand beside her.

She looks up at her son, "Pain medication can make people a little disoriented."

Edd looked around the room, "Grandma isn't here yet?"

"They're almost here, Nat's bringing them."

"Have they said anything about what's going on?" She looks at him and shakes her head no. What could be taking the doctors so long, they have had almost two hours to figure this out. Calming himself as Kevin leads him over to the couch, realizing that these things take time, Kevin wraps his arm around Double D's shoulder to comfort him. Kevin has met the man and his wife only once but he could tell they were good people, his heart going out to them, for no one should ever have to go through this. But that is life after all, you get the sour to go with the sweet, and from it you hope to come out with something good in the end.

They waited in relative silence for the rest of the family to arrive, Leslie and Tony praying for the man that lay in the bed, asking god for his divine mercy. Kevin and Double D waiting patiently for the doctors to bring them some news, praying for a glimmer of hope in this dark hour. A half an hour after the boys arrived the door to the room swings open giving way for his grandmother, followed closely by Nat and his father, to enter the room. Fighting back her tears she asks. "Have they said anything yet?" Looking to each of their somber faces for an answer, Edd quietly saying no. Turning on her heel she leaves the room again heading toward the nurse's station to get the answers she needed. In truth, she took one look at her husband lying there in that induced comma with all those wires and tubes sticking out of him and she nearly lost it. She required a moment alone so she could collect herself and steady the storm of emotions that were raging in her so she could be strong for the man she loved.

After ten minutes of insisting to speak with a doctor she returns to the room, repeating what every nurse had told Leslie every time she had asked since she got there, that the doctor would be in once he had all the information he needed. The next twenty minutes were spent comforting her the best they could, Leslie giving up her seat so Carol could sit at her husband's bedside, taking a seat by Edd on the couch, doing the only thing they really could do, wait. At the end of those twenty minutes the long awaited surgeon enters the room introducing himself as Doctor Thomas. The mid-forties African American man dressed in a lab coat and scrubs, positioned the medical chart in his arms for easy access to the information before he began. "As you know, when he first came to us with this condition the aneurism was roughly the size of an orange, located on the aorta between the heart and the spine. That was ten years ago, we have monitored it over the years as it spread down the full length of the aorta. But now it has reached a critical junction in its growth and we can no longer forgo surgery."

"What exactly is happening," Edd Sr. asks, his demeanor was noticeably shaken, "Why would his aneurism cause him to throw up blood."

"It has attached to his esophagus and graphed itself onto it, slowly opening up inside the esophagus causing the vomit to be bloody."

"What exactly is the plan for the surgery," Carol asked in a horsed voice.

"We are going to sever the connection with the esophagus then repair it as well as correct the aneurism, re-enforcing it with stents to try and stop it from forming again." His expression went solemn, "But I do have to be honest with you, his chances of survival aren't good."

Nat asked the question Carol couldn't at the moment, "How bad are his chances?"

"He has a ten percent chance of surviving the surgery with less than a percent of a chance that he will still be able to walk." The doctor's voice faltered at the end, it's never easy giving such bad news, Carol broke down in tears.

Double D had his own question on this extra risk, "Why would repairing his aorta cause him to be paralyzed?"

"Because the aorta is the main supplier of blood and oxygen to the spin, and while we are working we would be essentially decreasing that supply, running the risk of damaging the spinal cord."

"But if we do nothing he's going to die," Carol said through her sobs, and the doctor confirms her statement with a nod, "So we have to try, we have to give him a chance even if it is a slim one."

"Alright, I'll send the nurse in with the consent forms," He places a hand on her shoulder, "I know the next several hours are going to be rough, but rest assured that we're going to do all we can for your husband."

Carol places her hand on his, "Thank you doctor, can you please send in a priest."

"Sure," he smiled weakly at her.

Within ten minutes from the doctor leaving the room, the nurse was in with the papers for Carol to sign and a moment later the priest was knocking on the door, "Hello, I'm Pastor Earles." She stepped past the nurse as he left the room, extending her hand to Carol, asking permission to give her a hug when she saw how grief stricken she was. She was a robust woman that stood about five foot six inches with straight blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing black slacks and jacket and a blue button up dress shirt with the cleric collar. Carol stepped back after the hug, dabbing her eyes with a Kleenex in her right hand, the two of them spoke for a few minutes as Carol explained the situation to her, Pastor Earles doing what she could to comfort her.

Double D held Kevin and his mother's hands tightly, fighting back the worry and tears, Kevin cradling that hand in both of his, telling his love that it would be alright, that the doctor's would get him through this. Tony's hand lay upon Leslie's shoulder, squeezing it gently to give her support, Edd's head was on Nat's shoulder as tears fell, Nat whispering his comforts into the man's ear as he fought back his own tears.

The priest after speaking with Carol calls for everyone to join hands, "Lord, please watch over this loving family and give them the strength they will need for the hard times ahead of them. Please guide Jeffery through the trials that now lay before him and bring him safely back to his family so he may bask in the love they have for him. We ask for your mercy Lord, bringer of life and creator of the universe, so that he may celebrate the birth of your son with the ones he loves this year and for many years to come. We ask this in your name lord, Amen." Carol gives her a tight hug at the end of the prayer and whispers her thanks, "I'll be right here, if you need anything," the priest replies.

Edd comes over and hugs her, Nat right behind him, whispering, "Thank you, Myrtle."

"It was my pleasure Edd," she whispers back, switching and giving Nat a hug, "If you need anything I'm here."

"Thank you," Nat replied, "And tell Tommy hi for us."

"I will, I'm sure he would express his sympathies if he were here," she looks between the both of them, "Be assured that we will both be praying for your father." After receiving the gratitude from the other members of the family she went and stood by Carol again, the two of them continuing to pray for Jeffery.

The time was half past eleven when they came to take Jeffery in for surgery, asking everyone to please step out and make their way down to the second floor surgical waiting area. The area was on a balcony in the main lobby overlooking the main entryway, a few potted plants and shrubbery tastefully decorating it. A few of Double D's great aunts and uncles were there waiting for them, having arrived later then everyone else and with the room already full they waited here for word to come to them.

Standing they gave their sympathies to Carol and listened as she explained the situation to them, Leslie and Edd taking over when her voice gave out on her. Sitting in the uncomfortable chairs they all did what they could and waited, each occupying their minds in some way, with books, newspapers or some mind numbing thing on their phone. For to sit and fixate on the situation would be torture for those waiting on any news from the operating room to come.

For Double D and Kevin it was Netflix, sharing a set of earbuds they sat and watched an episode of one of the shows they had been binging on. Double D placing his half of the headset in his right ear, leaning the left side of his head on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin putting his in his left ear, wrapping his arm around Double D, rubbing his shoulder to sooth him.

"You know, Jeff was right, they do make a cute couple," Kevin looks up from the device and sees two of Double D's great aunts talking.

"Yes, they do," she catches Kevin's eyes, "You must be Kevin."

"Yes Ma'am," he replied with a shy smile.

"And polite too," she gave him a sad but warm smile as thoughts of her brother raced through her mind, "He said you would make our Edd a fine husband."

"Please forgive me," Double D stated, "But I can't remember your name."

"That's alright dear, I didn't expect you to, the last time I saw you, you were knee high to a grasshopper." She motions with her hand, demonstrating how tall he was, "I'm your great aunt Edith and this is your great aunt Sue."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kevin said, Double D mirroring his statement.

"And that's your uncle Charlie," she points to Sue's husband and the man waves, "And Bob," to her own husband who also waved. The boys return the waves of the older men, they were kind of felt like a zoo exhibit at this point with all their eyes upon them, "Do you boys mind if I ask you something?" They motion that she could, "Your wedding is going to be in June, right?" They answered affirmatively, "Pardon me for asking because I don't know how these things work with same sex couples, but which one of you is going to be walking down the aisle?" Both boys looked perplexed, they hadn't considered that to be an issue to think about right now, hell they hadn't even started planning for the wedding yet.

Seeing their confused looks Sue chimes in, "You know the tradition where the man waits at the alter while the woman is walked down the aisle to be given away by her father."

Kevin scoffs at the mere idea of asking his dad to do something like that for him, "Honestly we haven't thought about it yet."

"You should," Edith says, "It's never too early to start planning these things." God could this conversation just end already, Double D thought to himself, "If you're the one walking down the aisle Edd, are you going to have Tony or your father give you away?"

"Tony is my dad," Double D said a little to bitterly, causing Edit to flinch.

"What are you old hens clucking about," Nat asks from behind the boys as he passes a small cup of coffee over to Double D and the second to Kevin.

"Just asking the boys about their upcoming wedding," Sue replies.

"I see, scratching for worms as usual," he said with a tone of disdain in his voice. Tapping Double D on the shoulder he motions with his head toward Edd as he spoke, "Come sit with us, your father wants to talk to you." The boys stood and bid the four of them farewell, following Nat over they took their seats close to Edd, Nat whispering an explanation in his ear.

"Oh dear," Edd said softly, "Don't mind them, they are just being nosy trying to find some common ground. See they are old school, so in their own way they are just trying to piece together what they know with something knew and unfamiliar. If they really didn't like the idea of your marriage they wouldn't be asking you questions about it."

"We understand," Kevin assured him.

"I was halfway expecting one of them to ask me if it was going to be some circus freak show," Double D says the hint of annoyance still in his voice.

"I assure you that's the farthest thing from their minds," Edd replied.

"Really,' Nat scoffed, "It took them forever to get use to the idea of us being in a relationship."

Edd looked at him in annoyance for his exaggeration, "But they came around didn't they."

Nat folded his arms in defiance, "I still think they probably would've been happier if you kept pretending you were straight."

Edd has had enough of this little argument about his family and refused to continue it, bringing up his phone he started to scroll through Tumblr, liking and sharing posts from his mutuals. Sure, his aunts and uncles were old school, growing up in a time when homosexuality wasn't talked about in what was deemed polite conversation, but they were trying and that's what counted. To pass the time Nat and Kevin talked about sports while Edd Sr. and Jr. distracted themselves with the social media apps on their phones. An hour passes with only a small update from one of the nurse's telling them that Jeffrey was doing fine. Another hour of waiting only brought the same update, after another half hour Dr. Thomas comes out for a more personal in-depth report. "We have just finished separating and repairing the esophagus and are now beginning the long task of correcting the aneurism, as you can undoubtedly see this is going to take some time. So, if you would like, you can try to get some rest, we will call you and let you know his status as soon as we are done or if anything should happen."

"Thank you, Doctor, we'll do that," Carol replied in a physically and emotionally drained voice. She takes a few minutes to make sure her information was correct with the nurse that accompanied the doctor before following Nat and Edd to the door. The group departs, following Nat's car to the closest hotel two blocks from the hospital to checked in for the night, Double D and Kevin sharing a room with his parents. Now finally away from prying eyes and laying down for the night, Double D let his wall down and his emotions out as Kevin comforted him, quietly crying into his chest, he fell asleep an hour later in those protective arms.


	76. In Nomine Patris

Chapter 76 – 12th Grade – In Nomine Patris

The surgery lasted throughout the night and well into the following day. Entering through his right side, cutting along the bottom of his rib cage, they collapse a lung to give them room to work. Two hours in and they have repaired the first part of the aneurism and the esophagus itself. Reporting his work to the eager family Dr. Thomas scrubs up again and returns to the operation, making his way down the rest of the damaged area. Collapsing, suturing and stinting one small area at a time, the operation would take time to complete. One of his colleges monitors his vitals, warning him of any sudden changes, while another assisted him in the procedure, a nurse handing him all the essential tools he would need.

Inch by inch, piece by piece they worked on the man in their care, taking great effort not to rupture to much of the aneurism at one time and thus releasing to much blood. But even with such care blood lose is inevitable and unavoidable, a fact he knew all too well as he calls for suction to remove a pool of the red liquid that had formed around his work. Vitals drop suddenly, and the unsuspecting team spring into action, utilizing their well trained routine to try and stabilize him.

A tranquility and calm easies Jeffery's mind as his cares seem to melt away, his fears of death a burden he could scarce remember having. Each step upon the polished white marble floor seemed to be the right decision, each echoing footfall left him with a certainty that all he left behind would be taken care of. That they would be alright, watched after, guarded, and guided by his loving hands. That this gift was given to him for the kindness and love he has shown throughout his life, sure he had his faults, but they were not so terrible as to deny him this.

Reaching the door at the far end of the hall, he sees a strange script upon that door that he was unfamiliar with. But though he has never seen these letters before in his life he knew what they said, they were his name beautifully etched upon the door with loving care. As though all of this was made to welcome him home, with all the love a father or a mother could give to their child upon their return. Reaching up, he places his hand upon the door, a strange sensation surging through him, the realization that he still had a choice, step through and be home or go back.

Double D woke up around six am, scrambling over Kevin for his phone, certain that he had heard it ring in his sleep. Checking his screen, Kevin asks in a groggy voice, "Is everything alright?"

Breathing a sigh of relief as there were no missed calls, no texts or emails from any of his family, "Yeah, it's fine," no news was good news for now anyways.

Gently guiding him back down, Kevin wraps his arms around him, "Let's try and get a little more sleep." The two of them laid there holding each other trying to fall asleep again, "You know everything's going to be alright."

"I know," he whispered as he nuzzled his face in Kevin's neck.

"He's going to make it," Double D hums out his agreement, "So you don't have to worry, you'll see him soon."

"That's easier said than done," Kevin was a comfort to him, but the worry was still hard to keep at bay.

"I know babe, I know," he rubbed his back with a soft touch. They laid there for another twenty minutes in each other's arms trying to fall back to sleep with no success. Finally deciding to get up for the day, Leslie asks them as they made their way to the bathroom if everything was alright, they informed her that there was still no news. The two of them took a shower together, no sex, just love and support. This had become a little ritual for them on days they only got to see each other at school, or had opposite work shifts on the weekend. When they would get home late at night they would hop in the shower together and just talk about their day as they washed each other, removing the stress and grime of the work day before going to bed together.

They brushed their teeth with the cheap complimentary tooth brush they had gotten from the front desk last night, then dressed in the clothes they wore the day before. Having been in a rush, they had both forgotten to consider the possibility that they might be staying the night down in Summerville, and left without an overnight bag. Exiting the bathroom Leslie walks past them to take her turn in the shower, "We're going down to get something to eat," Double D informed her as Kevin headed towards the door.

"Alright," she replied still half asleep, "We'll be down in a few."

Heading down into the lobby they find the side room where breakfast was already being served. Picking up two plates off the stack at the end of the table Double D examines them for cleanliness before handing one over to Kevin. He places the recommended portion of egg's beacon and two slices of toast on his plate, Kevin followed his example in portion size, but instead took the muffin and sausage links. Double D got him into the habit of eating a more conservative portion of food instead of the mounds of food his father had insisted was a manly helping. Since he was no longer participating in sports anymore, it made since to cut back on his food intake, he kept his physique by going to the gym with Justin on days Double D worked and he had off.

As they sat down to begin their meal, Nat, Edd and Carol walk in, she was currently on her phone, both of them presuming that she must be talking to the hospital. "Hey babe," he takes his eyes away from the door, bringing his attention to Kevin, "I want your opinion on something."

"Sure," he replied, then takes a bite of his bacon.

"I was thinking when we get married, that I should take your last name."

He quickly swallows, "Does this have anything to do with my aunts?"

Kevin shakes his head, "No, just that your family has become my own and I would like to have their name, you know." A very small part of Kevin still missed his own family, the pain of his parents abandoning their child would probably never leave him. But they have made their choice and he has made a new family with the Vincent's and Kanker's and this fueled his decision. "I mean, it would make me very happy to be a Vincent."

Double D gave him the best smile he could, all things considered, reaching over to Kevin who took his hand, "I would love for you to take my name, as long as you're sure this is what you want."

"It is," Kevin replied rubbing his thumb along the top of Double D's hand.

"Do you two care if we join you?" They look up and to their left to see a tired Edd Sr. standing there with his plate of food, his mother standing beside him, Nat slowly walking toward them half asleep. The rest of the family, including his parents, were at the breakfast bar getting their meals.

"Please," Double D replied and motions toward the seats opposite them, Nat pulling a chair over from a nearby table. The group adjusting their distances to make room for the extra chair as Double D asks, "Have you heard anything?"

Carol shakes her head no, "All I can get from the receptionist is that he is still in surgery," Edd looks at his phone and sees that it was almost eight.

For every one of those hours since midnight Jeffery has been on that operating table, "It's not much in the way of consolation, but at least we know he's still alive." His own words didn't do much to dispel his own worry, he can only imagine what little affect it had on her, but he felt he needed to try and see the brighter side to this.

Her forlorn eyes cast down at her plate of food as she picked at the eggs and nothing more, her voice was barely audible as she replied, "Thank you Junior."

"So, what have you two been talking about," Nat knew that a change of subject was needed to help keep her mind off things.

"We were just," Double D stumbled for some lie, as he was unsure if talking about their wedding in front of her would be appropriate right now.

Kevin agreed with Nat though, a happier topic was need and proudly states, "I'm going to take his last name when we get married."

Carol looks up from her food and weakly smiles at him, "You don't know how happy that will make us." The thoughts of her husband's current situation were banished from her mind for just an instant, "Jeff really likes you, you know, and I think he would be proud to call you a Vincent."

Her lip quivers as the thoughts return, "Mom," Edd places his hand on her forearm.

"I'm alright," she said a little defensively as she was growing tired of being coddled, "I just wish this damn operation was over already."

He withdrew his hand understanding her feelings as only her child can, "It will be soon enough, Mom."

Trying to keep the conversation off the topic of the operation as they finished their breakfast, Nat begins showing them pictures of their vacation to Italy they took last year. Most of those pictures showed two friends that had a very deep bond with each other, while a few of them clearly showed the love they still had for one another. The selfie that Nat took of them dancing together on a moon lit beach let Double D know how much they still cared for one another. It might never again be romantic love, but they would hold a special place in their hearts for each other, and would always been there for the other when they were needed, even if that need included a shovel and an alibi.

Carol's phone rings, bringing an end to the conversation and all eyes to her as she answered it, "This is she." She hums her acknowledgement a few times to what the person on the other end of the line was saying, "Yes, I understand, we'll be right there." Hanging up the phone she looks in their direction blankly as she said, "The operations over, we need to get to the hospital."

The five of them jump into action, Edd clearing the plates with Kevin as Nat started to walk her to his car, Double D going over to the rest of the family to give them the news. Everyone was up, checked out of the hotel and out the door as quickly as they could, heading to the hospital in a line of cars. Arriving and dropping their cars off with the valet service the hospital provided, they enter getting the information that Jeffery was in the ICU wing on the fifth floor from the receptionist in the lobby. Packing as many in the elevator as comfortably possible, they made their way up, Kevin holding Double D's hand as they ascended the building.

The doors opened up to the ICU waiting room, several other families already occupying the decently sized waiting area, a locked door on the left wall the only means to gain entrance into the ward. Carol makes her way over to that door followed by all those who took the first elevator, pushing the call button to the left of the frame. They waited a moment before someone answered and Carol let them know who they were there to visit, the nurse on the other end simply told them the doctor would be with them shortly and to please take a seat.

Doing as instructed they sat and waited as the rest of the family joined them a few moments later. They did not have to wait long before the door opened and an exhausted Dr. Thomas walked out to give them the news. Everyone stood and gathered close to hear what the man had to say, "We were able to repair the aneurism, placing in stints to reinforce the area before wrapping it in mesh." With each word he spoke a weight was lifted from their shoulders, they were all waiting for some form of bad news to be dropped in their laps. "We are going to have to wait a couple days however, before we will know if any damage occurred during the operation."

Carol asks abruptly, "Why in a couple of days?"

"We're going to keep him in a coma to give his body a little time to heal."

"He's fine right," her voice was a little shaky but stronger than it has been, "He made it through the operation and your pretty sure he's going to be fine?"

"There was a rough patch there for a while, his vitals dropped suddenly and we thought we almost lost him, but he did bounce back and made it through. Unfortunately, we won't know if there was any damage done or the extent of that damage until we wake him up."

"Can we see him?"

"Of course," he replied, "But only two at a time." She acknowledges his statement then follows him to the door where he punches in his code on the keypad, unlocking it, allowing her and Edd Sr. to follow behind him. They spent fifteen minutes in the room with Jeffery before stepping back out to allow Double D and Kevin to go in next. Stepping through the security door the nurse escorts them along a row of islander like nurse's stations to the small room Jeffery was being kept in. The nurse pulls out a fresh gown, mask, gloves and hairnet for each of them, letting them know it would help cut down on possible infection.

Stepping through that door and entering the small room once they were prepped, they find Jeffery laying as he was before, with the addition of a few more wires and tubes if that was possible. Double D grabs Kevin's hand, holding it tight as he looked at the man laying before them, his free hand taking hold of his Grandfather's.

He was unsure what he should say right now, should he urge the man to keep on fighting, knowing full well that he has fought this thing for ten years now and how tiring that battle has been on him. Or should he tell him that it was alright to rest if he needed to, that he would be sad but he would understand, for ten years was such an awfully long time to fight after all. With tears forming in his eyes he could only manage to say, "I love you," Kevin comforting him the best he could. He squeezed the man's hand gently before walking back out of the room, he could not bear to see him like that a moment longer.

Depositing their robes in the bin provided outside the door, they made their way back to the waiting room to allow the next group in, his Great Aunt Sue and her husband taking their turn. Nat and Edd were standing off by themselves in a corner, Edd explaining to him what he had seen, asking his friend if he would like to go visit him. "Nah, I can't bear to see him like that again," Nat wipes a tear from his eyes before it fell, "I'll come and see him once he wakes up."

"Ok, I'll call you when it happens."

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

"Yes," Edd gave him a thankful smile, "Leslie and Tony were kind enough to offer us a place to stay until this is over." Nat opens his mouth but Edd already knew what he was going to say, "Yes, I've already put in for my family medical leave and my boss understands the situation. I just have to have the doctor's office fax them the information before I leave today."

"Alright," Nat said looking straight into Edd's eyes, "Looks like you've got everything under control then. Just remember to play nice and mind your manners," he bops him on the nose, "And don't forget to call me if you need anything."

"I will," Edd gives him a tight hug, "Thank you Nat, for always being there for me."

It was in moments like this that Nat wished Edd had said yes, that way he could stay here and support him like he longed to do, instead he now must rush home today because he has work tomorrow. "No problem dork," he returned the hug just as tightly, ruffling up his hair as he heads over to Carol to say his goodbyes. Then over to Leslie and Tony to thank them for their kind offer then finally over to Double D to tell him to keep his old man in line while he was gone. Giving Kevin a playful jab in the shoulder before he walked to the elevator, pushing the down button, reaching his car ten minutes later to shed his tears alone.


	77. Et Filii

Chapter 77 – 12th Grade – Et Filii

Rave was nervous as he walked to the front of the room to stand before the rest of the group. It had taken Alice a lot of pushing and down right bitching him out before she got him to agree to go to an NA meeting. "Rave I don't care what you have to say," his main argument was that he was fine, he had kicked the habit what else was there to do. "You need support that I can't provide to ensure you stay clean. You know I will always be there for you, but they've been through this and can give you the help that I cannot."

"Alright, God Damnit, I'll go," was his exasperated response after three weeks of prodding by Alice after his recovery. Then came the procrastination, then he finally he went to a meeting in Peach Creek for about five minutes before he decided the small town NA group probably wouldn't be as anonymous as he would like and left. It only took Alice asking once for him to admit that he didn't go, for lord knows what she would have done to him if she found out he had lied to her.

On his next day off two days later, she was down in Peach Creek picking him up, driving him all the way to Summerville to kick him out of her car in front of a church. "Now you get in there mister," she points to the church, "And don't you dare come back out here again until you've shared." Driving off to a nearby coffee shop she leaves him there to face his fears alone.

Now standing before this group of strangers, he clears his throat, "Hi, my name is James." They all greeted him, which only stoked the fires of his anxieties, "But you can call me Rave," he smiles weakly at them. "I've been using for a little over a decade and was only recently able to stop because my best friend wouldn't give up on me. I was so ashamed when she found out, that I lied to her and told her I had only been using for five years. I mean how pathetic is that, to lie to someone who is willing to drop everything just to save me from myself."

He looks around the room and sees their calm faces, it wasn't that they were disinterested or bored, they had just heard similar stories countless times, even from themselves and knew that this was normal. There was no judgement there, no shocked expressions or accusing looks, just people willing to listen as he unburdened himself. "My path towards using started with a letter I received from a friend, confessing his love for me. I know what you're thinking, a confession of love is supposed to be a happy thing right, so why did that start a chain of events that led me to using." He pulls out an old but well taken care of envelope and held it lovingly, "Well by the time I received this letter that told me of all his hopes and dreams for us, he was already dead and buried, K.I.A."

He took a moment and let out a sigh as he recalled several teasing flirts he had brushed aside as just his friend's nature. The wrestling matches between them that ended with a loving look he ignored or the way his friend would always put his arm around him or stand close to him when they were out having fun with all their friends when they were younger. He wipes a tear away that threatened to fall, "Well, a few years later, after I thought I had worked out all my feelings, I went to New York to pursue my carrier, this led to parties and drugs. The drugs helped me bury things even deeper, things I had thought were long forgotten and gave me the confidence I never thought I had. It took my friend saving me before I realized I was just covering up everything that I was too afraid to face on my own." He says his thanks to the group for listening to him, the spokesperson for the meeting thanking him for sharing before asking if there was anyone else that would like to share.

Rave sat with the group listening to several other similar stories before the meeting was adjourned for the day. Stepping to the refreshment table in the back of the room to get a cup of coffee, he texted Alice to let her know that he was ready to be picked up. A voice draws his attention from the large thermos, "Hey, do you have a sponsor yet?"

Rave looks up and sees a familiar face, recalling the day this man had brought him the letter he now cherished. Shaking his head, he softly says, "No," and graciously takes the man up on his offer of sponsorship and texts Alice back that it would be a few minutes before he was ready. She looks at the text and smiles, glad her friend who she had helped with a similar situation so many years ago still went to these meetings. Maybe now Rave will finally be able to visit their friends grave after all this time.

The following three days after Jeffery's surgery was uneventful yet awkward, having her ex-husband staying with them was a little on the strange side, but Leslie knew it was the Christian thing to do. The family took turns taking Edd Sr. and Carol down to Summerville, to allow them a few hours a day to spend with Jeffery as he recovered in his coma. And each day Carol would grill the on-staff nurses about her husband's condition, then call them two to three times to check on him, once she got back to Peach Creek that evening. Leslie didn't have the heart to tell the woman to take a breath and calm down, lord knows what she would do if Tony was in a similar situation, they would probably have to drag her out of the damn hospital.

That Thursday, at a quarter past nine, the hospital calls to inform them that they would be bringing Jeffery out of his coma and that he should be awake by the time they get there. Both Kevin and Double D had the morning shift off that day and agreed to take them. When they arrived at the parent's house twenty minutes later to pick them up, Edd was already on his phone texting Nat about what was happening. Nat reminding him to take a few pictures and to post them as soon as he could so he could see how Pop's was doing. Nat's worry was noticeable to Edd with each text he received, but it was understandable, for Jeffery had become like a second father to him over the years.

Edd's phone chimes for the twelfth time since they got in the car, "Nat's coming down after he get off work today," he says to the group. But then address only the boys, "So you two don't have to wait around for us if you have to get to work or something."

"We've got plenty of time," Kevin replies, wanting to give Double as much time as he could with his Grandfather.

"Nat seems like a nice guy, now that I've gotten to know him better," Double D says trying to keep the conversation going. "I mean at first I didn't know how to take him, but now I realize that his actions speak for him better than his words ever will."

"Aint that the truth," Carol stated, "But I can think of a few words he said once that he meant."

"Mother can we not talk about this," Edd mumbled as his mother talked over him.

"Fine I'll keep my opinions to myself."

He could see the irritated look in her eyes and knew that she had a ton of things she wanted to say about this subject. They have had this conversation several times already, but anytime Nat was being helpful or nice she would bring it up again. "Okay, I know you're just going to sit there and stew, so go ahead and say what you've got to say."

"I don't know why you didn't say yes Eddward," the two in the front were feeling awkward as their passengers let out their family drama. "Here's a good man who loves you and cares about you, who's willing to drop everything and come running to help you out with no thought for anything in return. But what do you do when he asks you to marry him, you say no, you fucking say no Eddward."

Edd kept his voice low out of embarrassment and the need to keep this from escalating to a full-blown argument. "But what good would that marriage certificate done us back then, sure Illinois allowed gay marriage, but once we were back here it would have been nothing but a piece of paper and meaningless."

"Nat had a point though, that worthless piece of paper as you call it would have had meaning for the two of you and that should have been good enough." She pauses for a few moments containing her irritation on the subject, she knew they still loved each other, there actions together proved that. But either Nat was afraid to get hurt again thus stopping him from asking Edd to get back together or Edd was too afraid of the answer he would receive to broach the subject himself. Leaving the two of them in limbo, still loving each other and wanting to be together, but to damn scared to try and make it happen again. Both settling for what they had right now, not wanting to test the foundation of their crumbling home with more rejection.

"That man has got a heart of gold to still love you as much as he does." She looked at her son sternly as she spoke the next part, "You need to stop hiding behind the fact that you got your heart broken before and move on already."

"That isn't why I said no mother," but in truth it kind of was. When Kevin broke up with him back in high school he was given a front row seat to watch him get back together with his ex the very next week. Then there was Leslie, who found the love of her life a short time after the divorce and has been happily married to the man for nearly thirteen years now. And what has Edd ever gotten, heart break after heart break, sure some of them were absolutely his fault, but can we blame him for not wanting to invest that much into a relationship ever again. He wasn't sure he could handle watching someone he loved leave him again then replace him with someone new. But wasn't that what he was causing by pushing Nat away, the inevitable lose that will accompany it, and the front row seat as he watches him date someone else. But inside he couldn't figure out which was going to hurt more, the thing he knew was going to happen, that thing he figured he could brace himself for, or letting go and giving his heart away to an uncertain ending.

"Edd," her demeanor was of concern and caring, "Maybe it's time to move on, Nat doesn't deserve to be led on son."

Edd didn't say anything in reply, he just sat there and thought about what she had said, he knew he was being selfish, but he loved Nat he was just scared of losing him. The remaining thirty minutes of the trip was blessedly free of any dramatic conversations, which both Kevin and Double D were thankful for. Arriving at the hospital just before eleven, they rushed up to the room, Edd Sr. stopping off at the gift shop as they arrive to buy a get-well gift to brighten up the room he was in.

Walking into the room fully gowned they see that Jeffery is wide awake and looking at his heart monitor, he did not notice them as they entered, it wasn't until Carol walked over to him that he acknowledge her. Taking his hand, she smiles at him warmly, but that was quickly swept away by the first thing he said, "I'm going to die today."

In mild shock, she replies through a shaky voice, "No, no honey, you're going to be alright."

"My blood pressures to high," he points to the monitor that showed him having a 142 systolic and a 100 diastolic blood pressure, "It's not supposed to be above 135." Double D could tell he was still kind of out of it from the sedative they used to put him under for so long, "Call Sue and Bob and tell them to hurry up and get here, I need, I need to talk to them.'

The pressure went up to 144 and was still climbing, Carol pushes the call button for the nurse and Jeffery notices Double D, "Oh, there's my son." He motions with his hand, beckoning him forward, "I love you my boy," he takes Double D's hand, "I want you to be happy, promise me you'll be happy."

The nurse comes in to the room while Double D replied that he would be, not sure what else to do. He could hear the nurse explain that they had him on medicine to get the blood pressure under control and that he was still under the effects of the drugs, and that's why he was so incoherent. He sees Kevin now and motions for him, "I knew you two still loved each other," Edd Sr. walks into the room, "Edd, my son, marry him and be happy, he loves you still, just make each other happy."

He walks over to his mother, "Does he think that's me," she nods to his question as he places the balloon somewhere out of the way, but still visible to his father.

"He didn't mean to hurt you, so forgive him, all he wants to do is make you smile again."

Edd walks over to the bed, "Dad," he says drawing his father's attention away from Double D and Kevin. The man looked between his son and grandson, his eyes knotted up in confusion until his brain caught up with reality.

"What was I saying," everything was falling away like a dream we forget when we wake. The memory of that hall and how it crumbled away when he turned his back on the door, sending him falling back to his body. The images of his family past and present flashing before him as he descended back to earth, a loving embrace his young son had shared with a certain red head one of those images. War, death and a trial of the very soul accompanied these visions until they were gone again, and now quickly being forgotten.

"Nothing Dad," he takes a seat upon the bed, his mother standing beside him, "Just relax and let the medicine do its job, you're going to be fine." Double D took several pictures of the three of them together as Carol called his brother and sister letting them know he was awake and wanted to see them. He posted those photos to his Facebook page, tagging his father in them so he could easily find them and share them. The nurse came into the room again twenty minutes later, injecting more medicine into his IV bag now that it was time for the dose. Everyone breathing a sigh of relief as his blood pressure started to drop from the 153 it had reached.

Double D and Kevin stayed for another hour before having to head back home to get ready for work, both still worried as Jeffery was still incoherent and talking about his impending death. This understandably had an effect on Carol, talking to the nurses and because it seemed to calm Jeffery to have her near they agreed to allow her to stay with him tonight.

Edd called Nat before he left to make his way down to them, telling him he would have his aunt who was already there bring him home, and explaining the situation and that they needed to talk before he headed back to the hospital. Arriving at Nat's house somewhere around midnight, he rings the doorbell, this alone sent a fire of nerves in Nat's stomach, why didn't Edd just use his key. He got his answer as he opened the door and that key was handed back to him, "Oh, it's that talk."

When Edd looked up, Nat could see the tears already forming in his eyes and knew that this was just as hard for him as it was for himself. Edd opens his mouth and tries to say something, anything, but the only thing that came out was a choking gasp for air as his knees give out. Nat catches and steadies him, "I'm sorry," he finally manages, "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"You weren't hurting me," a lie, but he didn't want the man to feel any worse about this then he already did.

"I love you Nat, I really do," a horsed sob, "But I think it's time I let you go."

Nat could barely keep it together at this point, he knew that what Edd said was the right thing to do, but why did it have to hurt so much. "I love you too," he sniffles and wipes a tear away with his free hand, "But you're right, maybe it's time we stop leading each other on and just go back to being friends."

"But why does it hurt so much?"

"All loss hurts, even when it's the right choice."

Edd took a step back so his tears wouldn't stain his shirt, looking up into those golden-brown tear-filled eyes, "Promise me you're going to be happy." Nat nods his head yes and softly said he promised, "I want you to go out there and find love, I want to have a big wedding with all the bells and whistles, plant a little icing on their nose as you feed them cake and dance the night away to some sappy love song."

"Only if you promise to be my best man."

"And who else would you get to do it?" Edd gave him a weak menacing look, a weight was slowly lifting itself from his heart. They had both known for a very long time that they would never again be what they once were to each other, but now they knew that didn't mean that they had to be nothing.

"I don't know, Tina might make a worthy substitute," he chuckled weakly.

He playfully smacks Nat upon the shoulder, "Don't make me hunt you down and hurt you."

"Nah, but seriously, you had better be at my wedding, because I will drag you there kicking and screaming if I have to."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," his smile had grown stronger now, though his heart still ached with the choice he had made. But sometimes you must let someone go to show them how much you love them, it is only the special ones who continue to travel the road of life with you. Nat fixed Edd a thermos of coffee for the road as his dorky friend freshened up in the bathroom, and as they parted ways this night, he ruffled Edd's hair instead of giving him a kiss.


	78. It's a Vincent Family Christmas

Chapter 78 – 12th Grade – It's a Vincent Family Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring except Edd as he shouts. Tossing his head back, he proclaims Kevin's name, as his orgasm wins him the game. Panting and pawing he picks up his pace, admiring the expression upon his lover's face. Shifting his hips, coming down on a whine, he could see that it was almost time. Kevin's breath becomes labored as Edd rode his cock releasing a moan as his neck he did suck. He thrusts and he bucks as his balls began to empty, basking in the glow of their love that was plenty. Now laying together in each other's arms, Kevin whispers, "Merry Christmas babe," then kisses him a goodnight.

Now that I got that out of my system, let us continue with the story. Edd lay there in the comforting embrace of Kevin's arms, his head resting upon his strong chest as it rose and fell in time with his breathing. He could hear the beating of the heart that loved him in his right ear, his left hand affectionately caressing Kevin's right hand, the red head playing with the ring upon Edd's finger. Kevin brings that hand up and kisses it as Edd watched the gentle snow fall outside their windows that was blanketing the streets below.

Edd lay there and pondered the events of yesterday, his grandfather was still in the hospital, and was now in his right mind but was unable to recall the things he had said the day he woke up. He was scheduled to be released to the care of a nursing home for rehabilitation the day after Christmas, which was a step in the right direction. But Edd only wished it could have been sooner and that he could have been released to go home, instead of to another medical facility.

Edd had also noticed a change in his biological father's demeanor yesterday, it had turned sullen since he came back from Evansville to pick up his car. It didn't take Edd long to figure out that he must have called off what was left of his romantic relationship with Nat. He could only hope that this turn of events wouldn't cause them to sever all ties with each other, they had survived a declined marriage proposal, so surely they could survive this.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Kevin kisses his forehead, his beard ruff against Edd's skin.

He hummed out a sigh before responding, "Nothing."

"Mmhhmm, I know you better than that dork," his voice was muffled as his lips brushed against Edd's skin as he talked.

"You know me all to well," Kevin could hear the light chuckle in his voice, "I was just thinking about this past week and how grateful I am that you were there."

"Where else would I be?" A little worry worked itself into Kevin's mind, was Edd's depression working itself up because of the events of this past week? "Where's all this coming from?"

"I just know I rely on you a lot."

"Oh D, I rely on you too, you know," Edd scrunched up his face a little as he thought about this, "Your love and strength has helped me to become a better person for starters."

"You would have gotten there eventually, even without me," he replied to that statement.

"Maybe, or maybe I would have done the same thing my cousin did and gotten married to some girl, only to live in the closet for the rest of my life?" Kevin only knew what he heard about the man through the family gossip he overheard at family reunions, his cousin having stopped going to them when Kevin was five. Right after his great grandfather he was named after had died, the funeral was the last time he had seen the man.

"Is he still married?" Edd was a little curious about the man, he had heard his father's side of the story, but he couldn't help but wonder about the other half.

"Nah, he got divorced back when I was a kid."

"Have you talked to him, after what happened with your family?"

"Yeah once, right after I got emancipated he messaged me on Facebook, to see if I was doing alright," he recalls his sudden shock at hearing from someone he hadn't seen or heard from in years. "Apparently my aunt told him what had happened. He asked me if I needed any help and I told him about my plans to get this apartment with you, he seemed satisfied with my choices, wished me luck, then called my dad an asshole, and that was the last time we've spoken."

"He sounds like he comes from the nicer side of your family," Edd said softly as he drew a circle with his fingers on Kevin's chest.

"Nah, their all assholes, but aunt Tina and him were the only ones who reach out to me after it all happened." Kevin recalls the offers they made for him to come live with them that he never told Edd about. "So, she lives in New York and he's in Summerville, and even though they did offer me a rent free place to live, I had already made up my mind and wasn't going anywhere that didn't have you there."

Edd could understand why they had offered, they were family after all, a big part of him was overjoyed that Kevin had said no to them though. "So, he must be a good person if he offered to help you."

"D," Kevin shifts onto his side so that he was now facing and eye level with Edd, "I understand you're trying to figure out why he hurt your father, but I can't give you that answer. And yeah, I would say he is a good person, who just made a mistake, and personally I'm glad he did, because it gave me you." He kisses the tip of his nose, "If he hadn't, your father probably wouldn't have married your mother you know." Edd hadn't considered that, the cause and effect of people's lives and where it leads them, "Now let's stop talking about it and get some sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow."

"You're right," he wraps his arms around Kevin as he was enveloped by his loves strong embrace, "Thinking about it isn't going to change anything." Edd fell asleep moments later followed a little later by Kevin who was soothed by the gentle rhythmic breathing of his love.

They awoke the next morning at the decent hour of eight, for Tony wouldn't make it home from work for at least another half hour, giving them plenty of time to get ready before they head over. Christmas at the parents was a simple one, exchanging presents then a light breakfast before Tony had to call it a day and head for bed. From there they sat with Leslie for one viewing of a Christmas Story while eating cookies and drinking eggnog. After that they said their farewells and headed down to Summerville with a tin of cookies in hand to meet up with Edd's father and grandmother to go to the hospital and spread a little Christmas cheer to a certain patient.

Jeffery had been moved out of ICU yesterday in preparation for his transfer to the nursing home, entering his shared room, Double D quickly made his way over to the bed to give the man a much needed hug. "There's my favorite grandson."

"I'm your only grandson," Double D quipped.

"That not true, cause here's my other favorite grandson," he releases Edd and motions for Kevin to give him a hug as well. Releasing that hug he pulls his son in for one as well, then a quick kiss to his wife's cheek before he noticed the tin, "What you got there," he asked, his sweet tooth getting the better of him.

"Cookies," Double D replied opening the lid to display the sweets inside.

He playfully looked around the boy, "You got a blender hidden in your pocket?"

"Oh," he had forgotten that Jeffery was still on a liquid diet to allow his throat to heal, and slowly puts the lid back on the tin.

Edd places a small milk carton on his tray table, "That's alright I brought some eggnog."

"That will do," Jeffery says as he reaches for a cup, "I was getting sick of juice, do you have any bourbon?"

Carol tuts and shakes her head as Kevin couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, "No dear you're just going to have to deal with the none alcoholic kind."

"Ah you're no fun," he playfully pouted, "Where's your Christmas spirit."

As Carol came back with her witty response, Kevin leans over to Double D and whispers, "He's doing much better today," to which he nods and hums his agreement. They sat there and talk with Jeffery for a few hours before he fell asleep on them, his body still being in the process of healing caused him to wear out easily. By this time, it was well past lunch and the four decided to go and find someplace that would be open today.

Loading up in Double D and Kevin's car they headed down a commercial lane a short drive away from the hospital, but as they drove through the light traffic they only found closed signs on all the locally owned shops. "Oh, there's a Chic-Fil-A," Carol called out pointing to the sign in the distance.

The response was a resounding "No," from the rest of the occupants in the car.

"What? They can't be that bad," she replied obviously ignorant of the owner's views, "There closed anyways," she added as they drove by the empty parking lot. "How about Cracker Barrel?"

Both Edd's "No."

"What's wrong with Cracker Barrel?"

"I told you why mom, several times," Edd Sr. states.

"The systematic termination of all their gay employee's in the 90's," Double D added for clarification.

"They're closed anyways," she sighed. "But businesses are like people, they might have done or said something at one point in time out of ignorance or a misguided belief, but later learned from their mistakes and become better. So, you shouldn't hold on to grudges, in the end the only person they burden is you. I'm not saying forget what was done but you should learn to forgive. Oo, Chinese, and they're open," she points to the building on the side of the road, "You all don't have any issue with Chinese do you?" All three boys simultaneously say no and Kevin pulls over to park, piling out of the car and into the restaurant they were seated by the hostess in the nearly empty buffet.

They talked and laughed sharing little stories with each other as they enjoyed their little impromptu Christmas meal over General Tso's, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Peanut Chicken and Crab Rangoon to name a few. Returning to the hospital a good hour later to drop Edd and Carol off, the two of them planning on staying just a little longer to keep Jeffery company before making their way back to Evansville.

As they stood in the parking lot saying their farewells, Edd extends his hand to Double D to bid him goodbye. Junior takes that hand, giving it a good grip and pulling his father in for a hug, whispering, "I love you." His little way to let the man know that he had forgiven him for all the years he hadn't been there, that it was alright and that he could now forgive himself for his mistakes.


	79. Bachelor No More

Chapter 79 – 12th Grade – Bachelor No More

 **A/N- Sorry my updates have been sporadic lately, just been taking time for me, so I have been catching up on some reading and doing some gaming. I will continue to write, I'm just taking some time to recharge.**

The day after Christmas Jeffery was released to a Nursing home as promised, beginning his two weeks of rehabilitation. He had to learn that even though the aneurism had been repaired, it did not mean revitalized energy. In truth, he had less energy now than he did before the operation, requiring the help of a walker or cane if he was going to be walking for any length of time. His stubbornness and sense of independence won out, foregoing the cane when he was at home, or the short walk from the handicap parking spot to the motorized carts at Wal-Mart. But even with this hindrance upon his day to day routine, he felt as though he had a new lease on life and wasn't going to squander it. He would pour all the love he had into the people he cared about, building memories that would last their lifetimes and stories that would be passed down to the next generation of Vincent's.

New Year's Eve was a simple one for the boys this year, even though they had all got an invitation to come up and enjoy a little get together from Alice and Kev. The four of them however decided to spend it with their friend's, who were unable to go due to their parental responsibilities. Kevin, Eddy and Justin played with M.D. on the carpet while Edd and Angelica took pictures and video to post on their social media. The little boy was lying flat on his belly, using his arms to push himself up, giggling and smiling at the silly faces the three men were making at him. Edd getting a particularly nice shot, when Kevin scooped the boy up, laying him upon his chest, M.D. began smacking him on the chin grabbing a handful of his beard and pulling.

"You all have managed to get off for our wedding right," Angelica has been going into wedding day overdrive since the day was drawing near, the middle of next month to be exact. They had originally wanted to have it on Valentine's day, but because the church had been booked for that day a year in advance, they had to settle for when the church was available. The closest day they could get without extending their engagement further was the middle of January, leaving Angelica and the two mothers less time to get everything ready for the big day.

"Yeah, we're off," Eddy states, and Edd confirms his and Kevin's availability,

"What about the weekend after," Ed asks and all four friends nod their heads that they were available. "Cool we're going to need the help to move." Ed and Angelica would be spending what would have been their honeymoon packing and move into their new apartment, the couple having finally saved up a nice little nest egg were taking the next step in their independence.

"Eddy," Angelica calls out to him, "Have you thought about what I asked you?"

"I don't know, why don't you give it to your cousin,' Edd responded meekly.

Edd was a little curious, "What did you ask him?"

Ed responded for her, "She wanted him to be her best man, you know instead of having a matron of honor, because you all are her best friends too. That way you both had a place of honor in the ceremony, you'd be my best man D, and he would be hers."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Edd states.

"I do too," Ed added, "I mean I don't get why it has to be gender specific, what if my best friends were girls. Then would I be forced to ask some guy I'm barely friends with to be my best man instead of my best friend just because society says so."

"Edd can still be your best man," Eddy said in a low voice, "And I'll just be a groom's men."

This wasn't like Eddy at all, normally he would fight tooth and nail to be in the spot light, so there had to be a reason why he would give in so easily. Could it be because he hasn't told his parents about doing drag that he doesn't want any perceived feminine role place upon him, lest they start asking questions. How our fears will make us think sometimes, "How about this," Kevin interjects looking toward them from his position on the floor with little M.D. on his chest, "You're cool with being Ang's best man right babe?"

Edd nods his head, "I would absolutely be ok with it."

"So why don't we let Eddy be your best man Ed, and D will be Angelica's," Kevin gave the baby a raspberry on the cheek, sending him into a giggle fit, "Problem solved."

Eddy perked up at the idea and Angelica squealed in delight, "I knew there was a reason I liked you," she pinched his cheek and little M.D. mimicked his mother's actions, reaching for Kevin's cheek, trying to grip it with his pudgy hands. At which point Kevin gave the baby an Eskimo kiss talking nonsensically to him in baby talk before giving him another raspberry.

By the time the last few seconds of the year began to count down, little M.D. was fast asleep in Edd's arms being rocked gently in a rocking chair as the rest of the group quietly rang in the new year. Kevin coming over to give his man a kiss and wish Michael a happy new year.

Over the course of the next week Kevin brought his friends boxes from his work so they could start packing up for the move in two weeks. Preparation is key in all things after all, as the army would say, hurry up and wait. On Saturday Edd and Kevin kidnap Ed from his home, taking him to their place, where a small group of Ed's trusted friends from school were waiting to wish him well as he tied the knot. Walking in the apartment his first question was, "Where's Eddy," as he had looked around the small group but didn't see his best friends familiar face.

"He's running late," Justin replied, "Someone called in at his work and he is covering until his replacement can get there."

Rave understanding the need to celebrate had procured the group some beer and a little bit of champagne to celebrate with, under a strict promise that they wouldn't do anything stupid and that everyone was to stay there that night. The group as a whole had agreed to these terms, but boys will be boys, and what's a party without some tomfoolery. Rave would be the only one who could hear them anyways, since the building was made with thick brick walls on either side, and by the end of it Edd would have his work cut out for him cleaning the mess up the next day, thank God he had Kevin's help.

An hour into the party there was a loud thudding on the door, the group all thought they were about to get busted as Edd went to answer the door, Kevin, Edd and Justin all knew what was about to happen though. Opening the door they see Rave standing there, a scowl firmly planted on his face, as he walked in he calls out, "Cut the music, cut the music." Kevin did so, ejecting the CD, Edd brings over a chair and places it in the middle of the room as Justin plants Ed in it. "Boys what did I tell you," he places a CD in the player and looks around the small gourp, "That it's time to party,' and closes it, "May I present, Ms. Edina Divine."

Edina steps into the doorway, seductively leaning against it wearing a glittering dress and a fake mink stole around her shoulders, as Marilyn Monroe's voice came over the speakers, "Happy birthday to you." Yeah it wasn't an appropriate song for the occasion but it was going to be funny. Ed cups his face in his hands as Edina slowly walked toward him continuing to mouth the words to the song, sliding into his lap as the words, "Happy birthday Mr. President," came out of the speakers, "Happy birthday to you." Grabbing her friends head with her gloved hands she plants a kiss on his cheek, smudging most of her lipstick there.

Ed laughed and shook his head, "God you are too much."

"You know love me," Edina snickered.

"Yeah I do," and he hugs his friend, "Thank you."

"Anytime," Edina snickers again, "Now you can say you got kissed by your best man before the wedding."

"I'm sure we're not the first who can boast about that," Ed chuckled at his friend who was still in his lap. The party ended with ten drunk passed out teens on Kevin and Edd's living room floor, the couple hitting their own bed just a little after three in the morning.

Though the rule was that the party was to be like Vegas, whatever happened there stayed there, there is always one person who can't follow the rules. And before the friends knew what was happening a certain snuck video of Eddy in drag had made its way around the school's social media circuit rather quickly. Eddy waking up Sunday afternoon to his Facebook page full of notifications that he had been tagged in a video, a few of the comments were playful teases from guys Eddy knew, "Wow **Eddy** , ur looking hot." To a few from assholes who would never make any attempt to understand anything about it, "Didn't know you were a freak **Eddy**."

Finding out who had posted the video he turns his head to the boy laying on the floor, getting off the couch he makes his way over to him, kicking him in the leg, "God damnit David, what the fuck."

The blonde just roles over, "What the hell dude."

"That's what I'm asking, you asshole," he pushes him back over so he was facing him again, David's brown eyes half lidded ready to close again, "Why the hell did you post that video?" Justin stirs on the couch, wondering why Eddy was on the other side of the room yelling at someone and not lying beside him still asleep.

"I thought it was cute man," we replied still half asleep and annoyed at being woken up.

Eddy knew the boy well enough to know that he meant no ill intent when he posted it, hell he knew all the people here well enough and was comfortable enough with them to step through that door in drag. He knew none of them would do anything to hurt him intentionally, they were all good friends with Ed, and thus were friends with Edd and Eddy, most of them were Ed's former stoner buddies. They had all in one way or another been supportive of Edd and Kevin's relationship from the get go, live and let live they would say, though their voices had little effect on others in the beginning. David here has even recently come out as pansexual because of their example, so it wasn't malice that spurred his action, but the knowledge that there is nothing wrong with what Eddy does that motivated him. "My parents could see that video, dip shit, so please just take it down," Eddy pleaded, it wasn't the opinion of those at school that had him scared, it was his parents. For it was one thing to be bisexual and in a relationship with a man, and another to do drag, he wasn't sure how well they would handle that, especially since his father didn't even know about his sexuality, just his mother.

"Fine, fuck," he exclaims and pulls out his phone and with a few quick clicks he deletes the post, "There, it's down."

"Thank you," Eddy breathed out in relief, but as he walked back over to the couch to crawl into the safe warm embrace of Justin's arms, the nagging thought of whether his early bird parents had already seen the video crept into his mind. Explaining everything to Justin as they lay there wide awake, his boyfriend suggests that they go ahead and get it over with and head back to his place. Slowly walking into his home twenty minutes later, he finds his parents sitting in the living room, acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary. It was just another cold winter's day to them, deciding not to press the issue and his luck he lets it go and does not question them about it. Hoping that nobody had been smart enough to make a copy of that video to share without his knowledge or consent. But still being paranoid, he locked down his Facebook page tighter then Fort Knox and prayed that no one knew his parents Facebook accounts if there was a video out there.

Over the course of the following week nothing changed at home for Eddy, no hints that his parents had seen the video or that they thought any differently of him in any way. School life wasn't any different either, those who always had smart ass things to say just had one more piece of ammunition to fire at him. But Eddy rolled with the punches, giving just as much back as he was given, for example, when one boy told him that he should have stayed in the closet with that damn dress. Eddy just turns around flipping him two birds as he says, "Ah Terry, you just wish your girlfriend looked half as fine as me." Justin had to turn him back around and keep him marching forward with an arm around his shoulder or Eddy would have decked the boy for calling him a fucking fag.

Also, during the week was the last minute oh my fucking gods from Angelica as she worried over ever last detail of the wedding, as she wanted everything to be perfect for their big day. From flower arrangements to seating arrangements, nothing was safe from her final frantic scrutiny. Ed had to sit her down and make her take a deep breath to calm down, "Ang, baby, it's going to be perfect." She tried to protest, "Even if everything does somehow fall apart, Saturday is still going to be a very special day for me, because, I'm marrying you."

She lets out a choppy laugh as she accepted what he had said, M.D. who was in his arms was tugging at her hair, "You're right," she breathed out and composed herself. Taking her sons pudgy hand, she kisses the back of it several times, a big smile forming across his face at her affection.

The day had finally arrived and she was a ball of joy, the stress of worrying over every little detail was finally off her shoulders. Edd and her bride's maids helped her with the final thing she would fret over, dressed and ready for her big entrance into the church. She marched down the aisle an hour later accompanied by her father in a white flowing traditional wedding dress, nothing to fancy, but god did it make her look stunning in Ed's eyes. A few of the church ladies had a thing or two to say about that dress after the service, since white is traditionally a symbol of the bride's virginity. She ignored them, keeping a happy smile upon her face before during and after the service, they weren't going to rain on her parade. The service was beautiful, Father Lewis giving a heartfelt sermon on the joining of families and on the love the two before him shared for one another. He continued with what marriage symbolizes and that it is a commitment you make before god to cherish each other, that it binds your souls together in gods eyes. But when the service got to the part on "If anyone has a reason that these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace," everyone held their collective breaths. A few eyes wondering toward Angelica's father, those few knew about his initial misgivings about the boy, and awaited the drama to commence. But not a word was spoken by the man, only giving a sign with his hand for the priest to keep the service moving and to get past this awkward part.

Eddy held the ring that Ed would be giving the Angelica, handing it over he slides it upon her finger as he spoke the traditional wedding vows with a big smile on his face. Edd held the one for Angelica to give, doing the same with a happy smile upon her face, Father Lewis pronounced them husband and wife. The crowed in the church burst into applauds as the newly minted married couple sealed their commitment before god, family and friends with a kiss. Making their way to the exit and back down the aisle arm in arm, as the crowd throws white flower petals at them while the photographer snapped pictures of them all the way from the alter down to the bottom step of the churches entrance. The newlyweds got into their car and made their way to the reception that would be held in the banquet hall of a local hotel, arriving shortly after everyone else, having stopped so Angelica could change into something that would be easier to dance in.

The speech by the best man was a joint effort between Eddy and Edd as they wished the happy couple all the best in their life together. Advice was given, which she was already well aware of, and a quick funny story before they toasted their health and happiness. The couple's first dance together was to the song Unforgettable by Sia, swaying to the beat of the music as they held each other close, sweet affectionate kisses exchanged and loving words spoken softly. Dipping her low as the last few notes of the song played, her left hand he held gently in his right pressed up against his chest, expressing the love he felt for her with each beat of his heart. Cake was cut, guarders and bouquets were tossed into the crowed and many more dances were had that night before the party ended. Each member of the family watching over little Michael, fawning over the little angel who was dressed up in a small dress shirt and pants for the occasion.

But with all things the party must come to an end, and once again the newlywed couple left to spend their wedding night at their new home. As their four friends had set up their bed and brought over a few essentials for the morning after as an impromptu gift. Angelica's parents watching over M.D. for the night so they could enjoy their night together, in a loving embrace that expressed how much they meant to each other. Communicating their love to each other both physically and emotionally, letting each other know that no one or nothing would ever come between them, not even the relentless march of time itself could diminish what they felt for each other.


	80. St Valentine's

Chapter 80 – 12th Grade - St. Valentine's

With the turn of the month came the memories that Edd had long wished he could forget about, they were brought to the forefront of his mind with a simple thought that one year ago this month he had cheated death. It spiraled into a nose dive of emotions from there, these memories of things that had happened to him at the hands of others were now beginning to affect his dreams. On several nights leading up to the anniversary of that day, he would be forced to relive those terrible events once again. Sometimes he was the person being tormented by his assailants, other's he was a helps spectator who could neither change nor interact with the events unfolding in front of him. A few times he dreamed that it was Kevin instead of him dangling from that rope, his fears on whether he would have been able to save him if their roles were reversed manifesting themselves in his dreams. Would he have been strong enough or brave enough to do what was needed to be done in order to save Kevin's life, his dreams said no. The first time he had this dream he was easily stopped by those who were hurting his love, thus joining him in his fate.

Waking drenched in sweat, he would sit up, his trembling body gasping for breath as he tried to calm the storm of emotions that wreaked havoc in his mind and body. Gentle arms would ease themselves around him, the comforting embrace of his loves body against his side as his soothing voice would whisper that everything was alright. It would only take a few minutes for Edd to get his baring's and begin to calm, laying down to try and get a few more hours of sleep.

A few days before the anniversary hit, Edd sat down to write a letter, to put into words how he felt. There were many things he wished to say to her and questions he still wanted answers to, the main one being why. Why she felt he had offended her so much that his life was the price he needed to pay for the perceived slight, and was it all worth it? He knew that he would never get a reasonable answer from her, and truthfully his stronger side didn't care to hear her excuses. So instead of pleading for answers that will never come to questions he would never ask, he kept the letter short and sweet.

Nazz,

I hope you are enjoying your extended stay in our government funded correctional facility that my taxes are paying for. I imagine that right now and every day, you are probably thanking god that Kevin and the teachers were able to resuscitate me. Thus, ensuring that you could still enjoy every day of your life, even if it is one of incarceration. Since the alternative, though humanely done now a day's, is still rather permanent. I wish you well in whatever life you lead when you finally walk out from behind those walls, god willing, some six decades from now. I would like to assure you that I am well, and have gone on with my life, leaving the past where it belongs. So, in closing I would like to leave you with this little passage from a song by Nina Simone, not that you would know her, "I hold no grudge, and I'll forgive you your mistakes, but forgive me if I take it all to heart and make sure that it doesn't start again."

Best Wishes,

Eddward Marion Vincent.

P.S.- Kevin sends his regards.

Taking it to the mailbox with the proper postage upon the envelope and a P.O. Box number as the return address. He drops it in the slot hopping his calculations were correct and that she would receive that letter on the anniversary of the day she and her cohorts attacked him. He stopped dreaming about that day from then on out, letting a little anger out occasionally can be a healthy thing, even if it is in the form of some well chosen words. She let hers out by bouncing that letter off the cell wall as she cursed his name.

This Valentine's day would be the first that they would be properly spending together, since Edd was in the hospital last year when the holiday rolled around. This year they celebrated it with a relaxing homemade candle light dinner, Kevin showing off how much his cooking skill had improved with his Chicken Alfredo. The two of them cleaning up the dishes together before cuddling up on the couch to watch a romantic comedy. Ending their night with a steamy shower that concluded in the bed and a frantic search for the key to the cuffs that Eddy had teasingly bought Kevin for his birthday.

"You sure it's not in there, babe?" Kevin asked with a hint of panic in his voice, his hands held firmly in position, secured around the thick post at the head of the bed.

"No Kevin it's not in here," he replied after removing all the lose papers and objects from the drawer to more thoroughly check its contents.

"You got to be fucking kidding me, it has to be in there," he was definitely panicking now, testing the strength of the wooden post and the chain, neither were budging. He couldn't be mad at anyone about this but himself, for it was his idea to use the cuffs in the first place. But damn was it sexy to watch Edd ride his cock then turn around and fuck him, all while being denied the use of his hands. Left to the mercy of Edd's tongue as he lapped up the sweat around his nipples or on his neck, then the teasing kisses he was forced to stretch to make last just a little bit longer. A wicked grin upon Edd's face as he begged for another, his lover happily granting his wish a moment later. The next time they did something like this, if there was a next time, he wanted to add a blind fold into the mix.

"Should I call the cops?" He asked as he picked up his phone, "They might be able to unlock them."

"NO," he replied bluntly.

Edd couldn't help the smirk as he kept down a laugh, "Oh come on, I'll put your pants on for you." Kevin shook his head and hummed out no, "I'm sure they have seen worse." The look on Kevin's face told him that he would die of embarrassment and that he should drop it, "Alright, Eddy then, he's probably got a spare."

"Absolutely fucking not," his voice was really panicking now, if Eddy got wind of this he would never live it down. Edd was about to argue the fact that he would just get the key from him at the door and that Eddy would not see him in such a state, when it hit him. Leaving the room, he rushed toward the kitchen, "Babe, where are you going?"

Kneeling down in front of the sink he opens the cabinet and pulls out the tool he would need from the set his father had bought them when they moved in. Returning to the with the tool in hand he displayed the hacksaw to Kevin, "I'll cut the chain and then we can figure out where to go from there." Pulling out the bedside table to make room, he positions himself so that he could see the chain and begins to work on one of the links. "So," he was a little embarrassed to admit this, "Despite this little set back, I will have to admit that this was fun."

"Ooh, my baby likes the kink," Kevin replied teasingly, smiling to himself.

"Stay still please," he instructed then readjusted the saw to line back up with his cut. "But yes, it was fun and we could add it in occasionally if you like."

"Edd's an alpha, ruff," he chuckled at his own joke.

"What, I like to be in control to, you know," the chain broke as he finished his sentence freeing Kevin to sit up and stretch his arms.

Snatching Edd up in his arms as he stood up from the floor, he falls backwards into the bed dragging him with him, "How about round two?"

"How about we get those cuffs off?"

"I kinda like em," he chuckled as he gave him a quick kiss, "I know, I'm the escaped prisoner and you're the cop whose caught me and is forcing me to do naughty things to you as punishment."

"You're so incorrigible," he laughed as Kevin began to suck upon his neck. In this new round of play, Edd began it by being the one in charge, he found it rather hot to demand things from his lover and to be in control of how things were going to go. It was equally as exciting, when through a playful struggle for dominance Kevin turns the tide on him, forcing him out of the role of being dominate into being submissive. They spent the next hour after cleaning up sawing off the cuffs from his wrists, a new pair being put in the drawer a few days later, the key to the old pair was found under the bed shortly after.

The phone rang a few times in the third floor apartment, Rave was happy for the distraction, yet another valentine's day spent by himself was now marked off the calendar. All his close friends being in relationships and busy on this day, his other groups of friends fell into a few categories. People who lived in New York, people he was avoiding because he was in recovery, or just people he wasn't close enough to call them up out of the blue to say hey let's hang out because I'm lonely. Answering his phone, he says his hello's, hearing a welcomed voice on the other end of the line, "Hello darling, I was just calling to see how you were doing."

He knew she was a little worried because holiday's have a tendency to cause addicts to relapse, "I'm fine, just got done snorting a line."

"You're, not, funny," her tone was serious.

"I thought it was fucking hilarious," he looks at the clock, it was 8:30, "You just getting back from a date?"

"No, we've just been sitting here watching Netflix with Alister," oh, that's right, he forgot she was already fostering a child.

"How was it?"

"Oh, you know, family life," she waited for a moment for him to make a quip about her domestic life, but it didn't come, "It was heaven," she sighed out her voice was full of joy.

"I'm happy for you," he wasn't wanting to be rude, but when you're on the down side of the emotional spectrum, you sometimes don't want to face other peoples joy.

"Don't be like that," she teased then got serious, "I also called to run something by you."

"I'm all ears."

She braced herself for his response, "Would you be opposed to meeting someone?"

He let out a frustrated breath, "Really? You know we don't have the best of luck with your match making skills sweetie."

"Those were all just trial runs darling, this time I've found the perfect match for you,' she knew he was going to like this one. The person she had in mind had just enough bravado to counter act the sassy attitude he could put up as a front to shield himself, "So what do you say? He'll be there this Saturday at the pageant."

"I don't know," Rave switched the phone from one ear to the other, giving his hands something to do to calm his need to fidget.

"Edd likes him, so he can't be all that bad," she liked him to though he was a pompous ass at times.

"So Edd and Kevin know him?"

"Yeah, so technically both Edd's like him," Rave replied with a huh as he was a bit confused, "You're neighbors father, Edd Sr. you remember him don't you, you met him a few times back in the day."

This did very little to clarify things for Rave, he couldn't quite place the man she was referring to, "No not really, but I'll take your word for it."

"Whatever, just wear something nice Saturday," she was taking aim at both her friends hearts, and with a little luck she would hit her mark. "Oh, and bring your sponsor, just in case."

"What do you mean just in case," but it was too late she had already hung up the phone, to get ahold of the other party involved in this little scheme. Edd Sr. was currently trying to convince his friend to come down with him to Summerville this weekend for the pageant, but was neglecting to inform him about the blind date. Sitting down on his bed he hits the call button on a number in his contact list, hearing the deep rough voice on the other end greet him, "Hey, what are you doing this weekend." He explained the situation and what their mutual friend Alice was planning for him, and the need for support if it all went south like it always did with her attempts to hook him up. The man readily agreed to it and told him he would meet him there that day, and that he was looking forward to toasting his new relationship.


	81. Nerves

Chapter 81 – 12th Grade – Nerves

The day had finally come for Eddy to take part in his first real competition against other contestants vying for the crown. Sure, it was just an amateur pageant, but we all have to start somewhere don't we, I mean RuPaul didn't walk out on stage her first day and take the world by storm. So, one must learn to crawl before they can walk, but Eddy as he always is wanted to fucking run that marathon right now. And with time he would, but now is not that time, as Alice has cautioned patience, for good things come to those who wait after all.

Per their plan they would all met up at Alice's home in Summerville to have a good meal while they went over the schedule for the evening. When Justin arrived at his home to pick him up, Eddy quickly made a straight shot for the door once he received the text. "Going out with your friends?" His mother called out as his hand touched the door knob.

"Yeah," he said timidly looking over to where she sat in the living room.

She saw the overnight bag that was slung over his shoulder, "Where you guys going?"

"Just out," he was trying to avoid telling her that he was going to the club again, for she might insist on coming with them to make sure he didn't get into any trouble. In truth, he knew it was because she liked the place and had a lot of fun the last time she went with them.

She walks over to where he was standing and gives him a hug, whispering, "Have fun at the club," kissing him on the cheek, he returns the hug then exits the door. She follows him out to the porch and sees Justin sitting in the driver's seat of his father's Dodge Ram and waves to him getting one in return, "You all be careful and have fun, oh and takes some pictures for me."

Climbing into the oversized truck Eddy kisses his boyfriend, "Hey baby," Justin said with a warm smile upon his face.

"Hey," butterflies were starting to dance in Eddy's stomach, god he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to eat tonight.

He puts the truck in drive and starts down the road, "Did your mother ask where we were going?"

"She knew before I could say anything," Eddy slumped down in his seat looking out the window taking deep breaths to try and calm his nerves. He started checking his phone to see if he had gotten a reply to his last text, rereading the one from Rave telling him that he was on his way down to Summerville with Edd and Kevin.

Justin reaches over and caresses Eddy's leg, "You alright baby?"

"Just nervous," he replied, sure he has done this before at the Ball, but he didn't even place then. What if all their preparation had been for nothing and he doesn't even make second place.

"You're going to be fine," he slides his hand up searching for Eddy's, notching their fingers together, "You'll see. You're going to kick all their asses tonight," Justin was confident because he was certain that it was true.

They spent the trip talking, wondering what they were going to do once they graduated, Eddy was considering a career in nursing while Justin was still undecided as of yet. Teaching might be a good choice, but then there was also the trade labor that Ed and Kevin have been talking about, Electrician didn't sound too bad of a job. They arrived at Alice's house on time and actually a little ahead of their friends, Rave needing to stop and grab some cigarettes was what slowed them down, his nerves were a mess because of Alice's plans for him that evening. Telling them that he would be in once he chain smoked a few to calm himself, "Where's Rave," she asked once everyone was inside, letting down the six year old who had been sitting in her lap.

"Outside smoking," Double D said as he pointed out the front door.

"Alister," the child looks up at her, "Say hello to our guests." The boy turns toward the group biting his bottom lip in nervousness waving his right hand at them, then looks to the ground to hide his expression. "That's my good little angel," she ruffles his hair, "Now go have Kev help you wash your hands for dinner."

He rushes into the living room to tug on the pants leg of the short red head, "Kev."

"What's up sport," he sits his phone down into his lap and looks at the boy.

"I gotta wash my hands," Kevin picks him up and flies him like an airplane to the stairs, setting him down on the first step then following the laughing boy up.

"Isn't he a little old to need help washing his hands," Eddy stated once they had retreated to the top step.

She takes her eyes off the stairs and looks toward Eddy, "We are doing as many things as we can with him, so that he can get use to a loving environment."

"What happened to him that he needs that," Kevin asked then regretted it, "If it's to personal you don't have to answer."

"No, it's fine," she took a drink before answering, swallowing the lump in her throat, the thought of what he had been through turned her stomach. "His father didn't like the fact that he wanted to play with Barbie's instead of what he thought boys should be playing with. He just knew that his son was going to turn out to be gay, so in his twisted sense of masculinity decided it would be better to beat the gay out of him." The image of the scars left by the belt on Alister's back would forever be seared into her memory, "That is why we do these little things with him, so he will know that we love him and won't ever hurt him."

Double D asks, "Where's his father now?"

"In a grave I hope," Kevin added.

"He's in prison and his mother was stripped of her parental rights when concerning him for allowing and condoning what happened." The front door opens and she took this as a cue to change the subject, she never could understand how anyone could ever want to hurt such a precious person as their own child. Over spaghetti and meatballs, which were Alister's favorite, they discussed the schedule for the evening. First would be ballgown, where Edina would be dressed in fine evening wear, modeling herself for the judges at three different points on the stage. Right after that while still in their ballgowns there would be a short question and answer phase, she was to be concise with her answers and address all the judges not just the one who asked the question. "After that there will be a short intermission to allow the first contestant to get ready for their performance. You have the fifth slot Eddy so you have plenty of time to prepare and that also means everyone who isn't dawning a frock has roughly an hour of free time. That is all but you Justin," she looks at the boy intently.

"I know, I have to watch after all the costumes and her makeup bag," he recited what she has told him on countless occasions.

"Good boy," she said smiling at him, "It might only be an amateur pageant, but some of these queens will do whatever it takes to get first place," she talked from experience, having witnessed it first-hand. "All that's left after that is final presentation and then the award ceremony."

After dinner was over they loaded up the props for Eddy's performance in the back of Justin's truck as Alice gave last minute instructions to her sister Kim on Alister's bedtime. Along with special instructions about the book they had been reading together, the lion the witch and the wardrobe, and hints on the voice acting that accompanied it. Ruffling the boy's hair one last time, she picks him up and gives him a hug before leaving him in the care of her family.

On the way to the dock, Double D and Rave were both texting someone, finalizing their plans, "Dad's going to meet us at the entrance," Double D stated to Kevin.

The news filled the pit of Rave's stomach with worry, he had surmised that the person he was to meet tonight was a friend of Double D's father. His sponsor who was supposed to be meeting him at the bar was unfortunately running late, and with this news that he would be meeting his date at the door spurred Rave on to beg the man to hurry up.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way, just chill dude, I'll be there in fifteen, just make small talk until then," his sponsor replied.

His reply was one of panic and a flurry of misspelled words that autocorrect changed to something completely different. "God Damnit," he exclaimed once he sent the text.

"What," Double D asked as he turned around in his seat.

"Autocorrect is not my friend," he explained waving his phone in his right hand for emphasis.

Double D mouthed the word Oh as he slowly turned around in his seat, "Autocorrect," he repeated to Kevin and they both chuckled at his melodrama.

"It's not funny," he said as he stumbled over his typing again, "This is serious."

Kevin pulls into a parking spot a block away from the club, "Well times up, no choice but to face the music now." The two of them were well aware of what was going on, not only did they have to hear about it the entire way to Summerville, but Alice had told them a week ago about her plans to set the two of them up. Both Kevin and Edd approving to this plan and one of the main reasons they agreed to carpool with him tonight, to ensure he actually came.

Walking down the road they stood on either side of him as they made their way toward the fated meeting, "Nope can't do it," he said as he quickly turned around to head back to the car.

Both of them taking him by the arms and turning him in the right direction, "If you leave, who's going to be the other sister?" Double D teased as they started to walk forward again.

"Have your dad do it," he replied trying to squirm out of their grip.

"Nope," Kevin said frankly, "No one can do a better Drizella then you."

He lets out a loud roar of frustration, "Urg, I hate you both right now."

"No you don't," Double D replied.

"You love us," Kevin added.

They turn the corner and Edd Sr. spots them from his place in front of the entryway to the club, raising his hand above his head he waves them over. Nat's back was turned to them and as they approached Edd's smile grew wider as he was about to flip the tables on what his friend thought he was doing there. "Hello boys," he greeted them once the trio was close enough to them. Nat turns around and looks at the man accompanying them, thinking to himself that Alice has chosen a handsome man to introduce Edd to. "Nat, "Edd Sr. says to bring his friends attention to him, "I would like you to meet Rave."

Nat looks between the two men as Rave did the same, recognition of the older Edd sinking in, "OH hey, long time no see," then he looks between father and son, "God, so you're this one's dad." Nat was putting together what was up rather quickly, "I don't know why I didn't put two and two together sooner, you do look alike after all. But I though hell, doppelganger you know."

"Rave," Double D said, snapping the man out of his train of thought, "Take a breath."

"So," Nat starts, "You're not the one being set up?"

"Nope," Edd shrugged, "Sorry," and smiles at his friend who only shook his head in disbelief at the man how normally hates to lie.

Rave looks behind Nat and Edd Sr. and his expression brightens up as his sponsor and support for this evening was approaching. "Sorry I'm late," his deep voice calls out, "But I couldn't find anything to wear."

Nat and Edd look behind them to the direction the voice had come from and as each set of golden brown, deep blue and emerald green eyes met, three sets of jaws hit the floor.

 **A/N- Please standby for a word from our sponsor.**


	82. White Flag Part 1

Chapter 82 – 12th Grade – White Flag Part 1

 **A/N- Part two will be in Love Looks Not with the Eyes chapter 11. This chapter will be half of the story of the night done to show Rave and Nat's perspective. To alleviate confusion since there are now three Kevedd couples, Edd Sr. and Kevin Richard's story will continue in Love Looks Not with the Eyes after this chapter, Loves Fool's Kevin and Edd will be addressed as Double D and Anthony in this chapter to help prevent confusion. The song White Flag is sung by Dido.**

Edd blinks and breaks his gaze from those familiar green eyes, turning his head to the right as the pit in his stomach twists up in anxiety. Why did he have to show up here of all places, he worried his lip and took a deep breath to calm his nerves before turning to face him again, he was an adult and could handle this situation like one. Rave walks around them to greet the man with a hug, whispering something in his ear, could this have been Alice's plan from the start and she had just used getting Nat and Rave together as a coverup? He quickly glances at Nat from the corner of his eye and could see by the tightened jaw muscles and the frown on his face that he had probably come to the same conclusion.

Looking back toward the two friends, Edd takes in Kevin's appearance, he was noticeably older looking now, well obviously, time does have that effect on people after all. There was grey hair now mingled in with the red on his head, the laugh lines around his mouth had become prominent when he smiled at Rave as well as the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. He was also smaller of build than he used to be, his voice was also rougher around the edges then it once was. Edd could hear Rave saying Nat's name then a hushed reply from Kevin that he couldn't quite make out. "Wait here," Nat says softly, quickly walking off before Edd could protest the fact that he was leaving him alone with Kevin.

His son comes to stand beside him asking, "Are you alright," as Anthony puts his arm around his shoulder, the embrace felt comforting and protective, it reminded him that he really wasn't alone. That he had people other than Nat there to support him as he faced the man who was turning back around to look at him.

Nat walks past his childhood friend without a glance in his direction, keeping his eyes on his goal, "We need to talk," he calls out when he was within ten feet of Alice.

"Whatever about my dear Nat?" She replied, acting coy, "Do you already have some reservation about meeting Rave," she motions toward the man who was making his way toward them.

"No, you know what this is fucking about," he hissed softly.

"Language please."

He lets out a single frustrated laugh, "Don't act high and mighty with me, I've heard your mouth."

"Is something wrong?" Rave asks as he joined the group, looking quickly between Nat and Alice, worried that he was already getting shot down and that Nat didn't have the balls to say it to his face.

"Yeah, your friend," Nat motions toward Kevin with a quick angry movement of his hand.

Rave was confused and Alice looked irritated, "What about him?"

"He's Edd's ex and I'm guessing that Alice here suggested that you bring him along," Raves expression confirmed his suspicions.

Rave turns on his friend, "Did you know?"

"I don't have a clue what this man is talking about," elbow bent she jabs the air in Nat's direction when she referred to him.

She was being a little too defensive in Rave's opinion and both men say, "Bull shit," at the same time. Nat cocks a brow and gives Rave an impressed side glance before continuing, "I know that the two of you are friends on Facebook, so you've had to have seen some of the comments he's made on Edd's posts."

"I know a lot of people Nathan Goldberg," she takes a step toward him, "Which means some things go unnoticed on my social media. So, you will have to forgive me if I was unaware that your boy was referring to that particular person when he told me his sob story," she points in the direction of their four companions. "There are millions of Kevin's in the world after all, I mean just look around," she makes a sweeping motion with her hand to signify the group, "We've got three of them right here."

"NAT," he turns his head quickly in the direction his name was called from and sees Edd Sr. waving at him from the other group, "We're going to head inside," he points to the doors of the building.

He gives him a wave to acknowledge that he had heard him and watches for a second as they begin to head inside. Turning back around his smile fades as he addresses Alice again, "I'm keeping my eyes on you sister."

As Nat walked off toward the doors, Rave gives Alice a disapproving look before hurrying to catch up to his "date". "I'm sorry," he begins, "I had no idea that's why she asked me to bring him."

"It's alright," Nat replied, "I know you didn't. We both know that she does things on the sly with good intentions, this one was just a bit of a surprise." He recalls the night of the ball and how both Edd and him had been looking for a place to sit, as all the tables were full in that crowded room. Running into Alice in the crowd, she points them in the direction of a table that had a few open seats, so long as they didn't mind sharing it with someone. She did however fail to mention that it was Edd's son and Little Anthony that were sitting at that table.

Walking into the front doors he sees that the four of them were already at the desk, Edd paying the cover charge for him and his son, both Barr boys were standing behind them in line. Both Kevin's were having a little conversation as father and son made their way into the bar. Nat chose to ignore the older red head instead of getting into a verbal altercation with him, instead he decided to pay attention to his companion for the evening. Edd seemed to think highly of the man, or he wouldn't have agreed to Alice's idea of setting them up. "So, tell me a little about yourself," he started off nervously, god it has been forever since he has done this.

"What do you want to know," Rave asks as they took a step forward in line.

He spoke with a mild chuckle, "I don't know, whatever you want to tell me." Rave thought about this for a moment and Nat decided that it was probably best to be more direct with his questions, "Where did you go to high school?"

"Peach Creek High with Alice and Kev."

"No shit," Nat exclaimed.

"Go Cobblers," Rave responded in mock enthusiasm gesturing with his hand.

"Me and Edd went there too," Nat smiles and they take a step forward, "What else? After high school, did you go to college?"

Rave shakes his head, "No, I started going to auditions right after and began working in the theater professionally, with a side job as a waiter."

"That's cool," they reach the person manning the desk and Nat pulls out his wallet, the lady asks for his ID and he gives her a look but did as she requested. "I'm sure you've met a lot of interesting people in that profession," he turns his attention back to the lady at the desk, "I'm paying for both of us," she motions for Rave's ID.

He hands it over, "If you're thinking I rubbed elbows with anyone famous, then not really," he takes the piece of plastic back.

"But you lived your dream man," he pays her the cover, "Not a lot of people can say that." He takes his change, "I would love to come see you perform sometime," They step into the bar, "Are you in anything now?"

"No," he replied as they walked through the sparsely inhabited dance bar, "I gave it up," it was only a little past nine now and the bar wouldn't begin to become lively for another hour. Giving them at least an hour and a half to begin to get to know each other.

"Why'd you quit?"

"I was getting to old," Rave replied, his spirits downtrodden as he remembered all the parts he could no longer get due to his age.

"What are you? Thirty-seven?"

"Thirty," Rave pauses and Nat cocks a brow, "Six."

"You're not old man," he reassured him, placing his hand on his shoulder, "If anything I would say your experienced, an asset to the theater community." Rave perks up as they entered the drag bar, oh he liked him, "I mean what is My Fair Lady without the two old dudes in it," Rave scowls at this but decided to take it as encouragement.

"Thank you Nat," he responded as they joined their friends at a table in front of the stage, Nat being gracious and pull out Rave's seat for him.

Nat taking his seat across from him and next to Edd who leans in and asks, "He's nice, right?"

Alice and the rest of the group joined them seconds later, she leans in to whisper into Rave's ear, "Didn't I tell you he was a gentleman." She couldn't blame Nat for what was said earlier, if the shoe was on the other foot she would have done the same, he was only looking out for Edd after all.

Nat Continued his gentle flirtation with the man, if he had learned anything from being with Edd for all those years, it was how to reign in his enthusiasm and to take things slow. Rave was eating it up, but was doing his best to act as though he wasn't, it's good to be guarded but if you never let anyone in you will let love pass you by. At least that is what he has started to realize now that he was no longer hiding his emotions behind his drug use.

Kevin stands up at the end of the table, "I'm going to the bar, does anyone need anything?" Alice cocks a brow at him and folds her arms, "I'm just getting a coke mom."

"That's all it better be," she replied, she knew that he had done well all these years to keep his sobriety, but it's always a good idea to keep a watchful eye over your friends. For once you're an addict or an alcoholic you are always one, regardless of your sobriety, all it will take is that one drink or needle to throw all his hard work down the drain.

With no one giving him any requests he walks away toward the back of the room and to the bar. Nat watches the man as he leaves then stands himself, "I'll be right back," he says to Rave. He hums out his acknowledgement then follows his movement with his eyes, a concerned look upon his face as he watches him tail Kevin to the bar,

Edd also watches him walk off toward the bar, then turning his gaze away from his friend and addresses both Rave and Alice, "Is there a reason you're keeping an eye on his drinking?"

"That's something you will have to ask Kevin," she replied then took a drink of her bourbon and coke. "Speaking of which, why are you being so stand offish toward him?"

"I'm not, we're having a nice conversation," Edd said defensively, although in truth he had barely said anything to him.

Alice scoffs, "I hear you over there calling him Dick."

"It is a perfectly acceptable nickname…"

She cuts him off, "But that's not how you're meaning it," his guilt was as plain as the nose on his face. She motions with both of her hands towards him when he couldn't deny it, "Look at you, being all high and mighty over there. But please do me a favor and remember that it wasn't that long ago that you were seeking redemption, and then tell me, why Kevin isn't unworthy of it?"

"That's different, we're family," Edd replied adamantly.

She scoffs again, "A family that you abandoned, sure I get your reasons, but look at it from their point of view, from Double D's point of view. You got a divorce because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants, but hey, you're worthy of forgiveness and Kevin's not, good for you." She downs her drink then continues, "I just want to hear you say it though, that it's because you can't get over the fact that he broke your heart back in high school." She stands and looks at him with cold eyes, "Why don't you grow up already," then walks away followed by Kev, motioning for Justin and Eddy to also follow her to the backstage area so that they could begin unloading their props for the show.

"You know she's right," Double D says and Edd turns his head to look at his son, the pang of the old guilt welling up in his stomach. "You should give him a chance, everyone deserves a second chance after all."

Edd stands and pats his pockets, finding what he was looking for, "Edd," Rave calls out to him, "Don't take her to seriously, she's not mad at you, just frustrated." He wanted to tell him all about what Kevin had told them concerning his regrets over leaving him, and that it wasn't recent regrets either. That he has held onto these feelings for years, decades even, but he knew that it wasn't his place to do so, he would give Kevin the chance to explain it himself, if he didn't then he would step in.

"I know," he pulls a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket, "She's just saying what everybody else is thinking." He sees that no one at the table was going to deny this, "But I need a smoke, so I'll be back," with pack in hand he walks toward the exit of the drag bar. He did not go unnoticed by a certain red head, who casually excused himself from Nat's company, following the man out of the bar.

Nat saunters over to the table a few moments later, depositing a drink in front of Rave, "Got you a little something," he smiled.

"Ooo, Fuzzy Navel, how'd you know," Rave could guess who had suggested it, but Nat wasn't going to admit that Kevin had told him.

"Lucky guess I suppose," he looks down the table when he finally noticed that the seat next to him was empty, "Where's Edd?"

"Went for a smoke," Double D offered as an explanation.

"Alice ripped into him," Rave further explained then took a drink of his cocktail, "So he needed a moment to calm down." Nat instantly put two and two together and magically came up with four, and one name that came to mind that now explained two things, Kevin. Alice had laid into him because of him, and Kevin had to use the bathroom all of the sudden because he had seen Edd leaving for a smoke. Sitting, he left it in Edd's hands, he had said all that he needed to and now it was up to Edd to forgive him and let the hurt go.


	83. Come What May

Chapter 83 – 12th grade – Come What May

 **A/N- We are now back to calling Kevin from this story by his name, Edd Sr. and his Kevin's story will continue in Love Looks Not with the Eyes from now on, but they will still make cameos from time to time.**

Eddy, Justin and Alice did not return to the table as they had stayed backstage to get ready for the first part of the pageant. Kev however returned to remind everyone that they would need to get backstage after the first part to get ready for the talent portion of the show. Edd Sr. and his Ex rejoined the group shortly before the show would begin. Double D noticing that his father was making a more concerted effort to be polite toward the man, leans in and whispers, "I see you two have made up."

Edd's feather's ruffled just a little but he quickly hid it, "We have a mutual understanding, there's no need to be childish and hold a grudge." Nat was at the other end of the table teasing the older Barr man about something, Edd had seemed to catch the tail end of it and was now looking at the post and its replies on his Facebook page.

"Right," Double D replied teasing his father for his earlier attitude, "We are all adults after all," he sees that his father was looking at a post.

"It was the thought that count's Nat," Edd called down the table to his friend. Double D opens his own app and finds the post on his father's timeline with several comments posted to it, and chuckles to himself. He could see where the quote could be misconstrued as a declaration of friendship from the first half. But the second half makes it clear that it was only a temporary truce as the speaker swore he would make the other person pay. As he clicks on the comments to leave his own bit of encouragement, the post disappears.

Both Edd's put away their phones as the show begins with Anita Fellatio coming out on stage, "HEEYY, how ya'll doin tonight?" The crowd cheers and she acts disappointed at their enthusiasm, "Is that all you got? I want you to give it to me like you mean it, how ya'll doin?" The crowd erupts into a louder cheer, someone yelling in the background, "We love you Anita," and she shows her appreciation with a moan of pleasure, "HMMM, that's more like it, you all got me all wet, woo." She fans herself with the note cards in her left hand as she walks to the other side of the stage to the podium, "Tonight The Dock will be hosting the Amateur Miss Gay Pear Valley competition. These lovely young ladies will be strutting their stuff for your entertainment as they vie for the crown," another one of the girls that regularly perform at the bar carries out the crown on a red velvet pillow. It stood a little over a foot tall, decked in what Double D assumed to be costume jewels and rhinestones, but it was still pretty to look at. "For many of them this will be their first time on the stage, so I would like you all to be nice to them," she turns to one of the tables up front, "I'm looking at you Roxy." Then turns back to the crowd an overly nostalgic expression upon her face, "God I remember my first pageant, I was so nervous I nearly pis.."

"Which pageant was that," the lady holding the crown asks, "Miss Gay Bedrock?"

"Fuck you Blanche,' she snips then returns her attention to the crowd, "So the moral of the story is, your first pageant is like losing your virginity. You're all nervous and bound to fuck something up, so no laughing when one of the girls tits goes flying or if her junk comes untucked as she does a high kick, let's keep it judgement free, ok." She scolds the crowd then turns to the judges, "Except you all, you can judge all you want." She Smiles at them for a second then collects herself, "Now without further ado, let's get this show on the road," she takes a sip of her scotch as the curtain rises and then begins reading the cards, introducing the first contestant.

The first contestant, Isabella Perez, was a petite Latin American girl with long flowing black hair resting over her right shoulder, in a midnight blue evening dress, with a cut up the left side that showed off her perfect legs. The second contestant, Chelsea Night, was a voluptuous Caucasian girl with fiery red hair in a curly bun on the back of her head, costume jewels done into her hair. She was wearing a green evening gown that had a train trailing a foot behind her, her sleeves were see through and looked like vines were going up her arm. Edina Divine was the third contestant with curly brown hair framing her face, she was wearing a white ballgown with white lace going from her knees to the floor, a gold filigree design worked into the upper body and thighs. She modeled herself for the judges at the three points designated on the stage, as her friends cheered loudly for her at their table. Four more contestants were introduced, strutting and modeling on the stage before they went into the Q&A portion of the show. Edina's question was what does the LGBTQ movement mean to her, "The movement for me is what the pink triangles represent. That we must never forget the hardships of those who came before us, that we continue to move forward to ensure that the tragedies of the past never happen again so that future generations can live in the light without the fear we know today."

Rave gets a text and looks at his phone, "Alice wants us to head backstage," he says to the rest of the group as he stands.

"We'll be cheering for you," Nat says as they start to walk away.

Nat looks back over at Edd Sr. who wags his brow at him, "See I told you that you would like him."

He tosses his napkin in his face, "Shut up."

The group meets Alice at the door to the backstage area, she holds it open for them as they enter, then shuffles them off to their dressing area. Pulling Double D and Kevin off to the side, she pulls a few items out of a bag as she speaks, "Ok Kevin, I need you to help Edd tuck." They both cock a brow at her, giving her a confused look, "I'll explain," she displays the first item, "You're going to put your legs through the straps so the pad is between your legs and then pull it up to your hips."

Double D looks at it curiously, "What is this?"

"The elastic band of a pair of underwear and the top of a tube sock," she puts it in his hand, "They're unused, trust me. Next, you're going to pop your testicles up into the inguinal canal they dropped from when you were a wee lad, wrap your scrotum around your penis and put it between your legs. Squeeze your thighs together to hold it there while you pull the straps up so the fabric holds it in place." She hands him the second item, "Then you're going to put this on to secure it all," it was a pair of elastic form fitting underwear, "And voila you're tucked."

Kevin takes the underwear and looks at it, unsure that it was going to do the job she claimed it would, "Won't his nuts pop back out?"

"If they do just pop them back up, once the underwear and pantyhose are all in place everything should stay put," she reassured them.

"And if it doesn't," Double D said meekly.

She grabs something off the table, displaying a role of duct tape to them she pulls a foot and a half off, "Then we tape it." She sees the color drain out of Double D's face, "Oh don't worry, the tube sock will be between you and the tape," she cocks a brow, "You did shave like I asked?" He nodes, but was still looking as though he was about to pass out, "Then you have nothing to fear. Would I hurt my little smol marshmallow?" She pinches his cheek with the last words she spoke, but Double D didn't answer her.

"It's fine," Kevin said as he directed Edd to turn around, "We'll make it work," and he guided him to a more private area behind a curtain.

Double D undresses and begins to do what he was instructed to do, he was beginning to regret the day he agreed to help Eddy out with his show as he pushed the first testicle up. "How's it going back there?" Alice calls five minutes later just from the other side of the curtain.

"F-fine," Double D replied as Kevin held the panty's low for him to step into. He was keeping his thighs held tight so that nothing slipped free while he stepped into them.

"I'm leaving your dress here," they see her reach in through the side of the curtain, keeping the curtain so that Double D still kept his modesty and hung the plastic covered dress on the hook on the wall. "Get into it once you're ready, but don't fasten the back, there is one more step we have to do before we do your makeup."

"O-o-ok," he replied as Kevin pulled the panty's up and around his hips. She giggles quietly to herself and shakes her head, not out of amusement at the boy's discomfort, but that she was remembering the first time that she had to do this all those years ago. Her mother's guiding hand helping her get ready for the play she was in with Rave and Kevin, teaching her much the same way that she was doing now.

"How's the jewels?" Kevin asks once the pantyhose were in place.

"It's uncomfortable," he answers as he adjusts everything, his face wincing at his discomfort.

He turns and grabs the dress off the hook, and begins to take the plastic off, "I imagine it is." He helps him step into the dress, keeping it low to the ground and offering his shoulder for support. Now frocked they both step out from behind the curtain and see Rave standing at the mirror quickly putting on his makeup.

Alice comes over quickly and takes Double D by the arms guiding him over to the mirrors, "Sit and take down the front of your dress." He timidly did as she asked, "And you," she points to Kevin, "Kev and Justin have your costume hurry up and get in it." She picks up the duct tape once again, "Squish your tits together," and yanks the same amount of tape off, applying it to the underside of his chest to hold it in place, to help give him the illusion of cleavage. Picking up a brush and some makeup she begins to shade the area to further enhance the illusion, "Put that on," she hands him a bra, stepping behind to help secure it. "Stuff these inside," she hands him two stockings filled with birdseed, then helps him shape them, "I'm not trying to feel you up." They both looked rather embarrassed at the action of her groping his chest in such a way. With his chest now complete he puts the dress top back on and she secures the back of it for him, then drapes a sheet over his costume, putting a wig cap on his head, she starts on his makeup. Skillfully and with a quick hand she works her magic, transforming him from Double D into Anastasia Tremaine.

"Holy shit," Kevin exclaimed once he came back around the corner and saw the almost finished work that Alice was doing.

Double D looks in the mirror and asks, "Is it that bad?"

"He better not say yes," Alice gave him an evil look before continuing to apply the eyelashes.

"No," he replied, "You look fucking amazing," it was just kind of strange seeing his fiancé looking so different. Walking over he watched as she put on the finishing touches then secured the wig on his head, completing the illusion.

She pulls the sheet off of him and hands him his shows as Edina arrived to start getting ready. They had decided to get Double D some low-heeled dress shoes since he hadn't caught on to walking in high heels and the dress would be covering them anyways. "You two," she shoos them away, "Go sit with Kev and Justin and please don't leave our area." If I remember correctly each contestant's talent portion is only allotted eight minutes, and points will be deducted if the contestant goes over their time. So, from here they had a little under an hour before they were to go on stage, Double D found it hard to keep his lipstick from smudging onto his teeth during this time. Alice having to play mother hen yet again, helping him clean up, not that he would be doing any talking for his part in the show, but one does not want such things, if noticed, bringing down the score.

Finally, it was time and they hurried to set up the stage with their props then take their positions. The curtain raises, the scene was the ball in Cinderella, Justin standing on one side of the stage playing the role of the Prince. Both Kevin and Kev were at the back of the stage behind a prop made to look like the balcony, watching the scene unfold, lip-syncing to the lines of the king and the duke. Rave and Double D playing the step-sisters, comically fighting with each other as they walk up to clumsily bow to the Prince, Alice was the evil step-mother scowling off to the side. Edina of course is Cinderella, who is in the background trying to find her way to the ball, being noticed by her Prince as the sisters bow, he rushes over to take her hand, beginning the dance between them. The music shifts from the waltz to Moulin Rouge's Come What May, Edina and Justin singing the duet to each other as they continued to dance the waltz. Alice playing her part of Lady Tremaine, stalks the two of them in the background as she tries to get a better look at the mystery girl who was stealing the heart of the Prince, and ruining her daughter's chances.

Alice was also keeping her fingers crossed that they were being mindful of the stage and wouldn't take a misstep and fall off into the judge's laps. She had nothing to worry about as Justin had taken all she had taught them during their rehearsals and was taking the lead in the dance, keeping a safe distance from the edge of the stage and keeping it where the judges could see them singing. Their talent portion ended with the clock striking midnight and Edina running off stage, Justin chasing behind her and the curtain closing.


	84. Long Live the Queen

Chapter 84 – 12th Grade – Long Live the Queen

Once the curtain had dropped the group of friends quickly took their props off of the stage so the next performer could get ready for their show. They dropped off their supplies at the backstage door so that Kev and Justin could load them up into his truck and Edina could retriever her next dress while the rest of the group made their way to their changing area. They had made one fatal mistake, for even though Rave had hurried back to guard their supplies once he had left the stage a saboteur had struck, in those few minutes that he was gone had given the culprit enough time to do some minor damage.

As Edina rounds the corner to their dressing area carrying her next outfit she had got from the truck, she sees Rave already sorting through her makeup, "What happened," she nearly shrieked.

The water on the counter already told the story, "Someone decided to douse your makeup bag."

"I thought we hid it," Alice says as she comes to stand next to Rave, looking over the makeup.

"Well obviously we didn't hide it good enough," looking around they could see that their area had been ransacked, as the individual responsible had slung a few things around. "Some of it is salvageable, but the powder is a goner."

"Alright there's no use crying over spilled milk, we should just be thankful that we kept the last two outfits in the truck," Alice pulls out her phone and begins to text, "Edina go ahead and wash your face off and change, I'll be right back, Rave come with me."

Rave and Alice headed towards the stage door as Edd and Kevin went behind the curtain to change out of their costumes. Alice opens the door and allows Rave to walk through first, he was startled to see Nat standing there waiting on them, "Nat," Alice acknowledges him, "I need you to take Rave down to the Walgreens that's two blocks from here, she knows what we need."

Nat looked confused as he asked, "What the hell happened?"

"I'll explain on the way," Rave grabs his hand and starts to lead him to the main exit quickly.

Alice calls out after them, "I need you back here in twenty minutes."

Kevin slides the curtain in to place behind them as Edd pulls the wig from his head, sitting it upon the stool next to him then turning his back to Kevin so that he could help unzip his dress. Sliding the dress off of Edd's shoulders he lets it fall to the floor revealing the supple skin that was hidden underneath as well as the nice tight curve of his ass cheeks. Kevin leans in wrapping his arms around his fiancé's midsection, kissing the sensitive nape of his neck as he ground his growing erection into his hips. The sight, smell, touch or taste of Edd's bare skin could easily bring out his animalistic desire for him. Edd moans softly at the sensation bringing his left hand up to run his fingers through fiery red hair, "Kevin, we're in public."

He brings his lips up from his neck to his ear letting his bottom lip glide across the flesh as he moved, his whisper filled with need, "We'll just have to be quiet then," nipping at the lob gently with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth.

Edd became painfully aware that a certain body part of his was still positioned between his legs, causing him to whine out in pain, "Kevin, I'm still." He realized the uncomfortable situation Edd was in the instant he whined, he slides his rough hand across the smooth flesh of his stomach and down into the elastic underwear. Spreading his legs slightly, Edd pushes his ass back into the bulge trapped in Kevin's pants as the jock reaches between his thighs to free his cock from under the makeshift restraint. Everything now free from its constraints Edd breathed out in relief, "Oh god," as the slight pain gave way to pleasure.

Edd's mind became numb to his fears of getting caught as excitement replaced them while Kevin slowly stroked his cock, bringing it to its full size, grinding their hips together in time with his strokes. Turning his head to the side he brings their lips together in a needy passionate kiss that brought a soft moan of desire out of Kevin. "Oh baby, I need you so bad," he pulls his hand out of the restrictive underwear, turning Edd around to face him, he knocks the wig off the stool beside them and lifts his love up to sit him upon it. Edd fumbled in haste to undo Kevin's pants as the jock rips off the Jacket he was wearing, depositing it upon the floor alongside the dress before reaching up to yank pantyhose and all off of Edd.

They were being clumsy and noisy in their need for each other, neither one of them really giving a fuck, the excitement of the situation along with their desire was causing them to throw all caution to the wind. With his pants and underwear now down to his ankles, he lets a big glob of spit drop into his hand before stroking it onto his cock, getting his piece nice and wet so that it was ready to enter his love. He applied more spit until he was satisfied he was slick enough not to cause his lover pain before hooking his arms behind Edd's knees to help support his legs in the proper position. Edd leans back against the wall behind him and puts his hand between his legs to help line up Kevin's cock with his hole. Kevin pushes forward gently, sliding himself in slowly, moaning under his breath at the sweat warm feeling that was enveloping him, Edd reaches around and grabs his ass cheeks silently directing him to push in further, he knew Kevin's body almost as well as his own and knew he could take more. He needed him up inside of him now, his body craving his touch and the pleasure only Kevin knew how to bring to him.

Edd whined, "Give it to me stud," Kevin's cock twitched at the dirty talk, he obeys the instructions given to him and pushes in deeper. Edd moaned out, "Yeah, that's it," forcing the red head to silence his moans with a greedy kiss, muffling the sounds the others were surely to hear.

But he couldn't help his own moans of appreciation as he hilted himself deep within Edd, breathing out between kisses, "Oh god Edd, fuck yeah." The tight warm wet hole squeezing around his cock as Edd's muscles spasmed with the pleasure Kevin was bringing to him as he began to move his hips in rhythmic strokes.

"Harder," Edd begged between kisses for him to quicken his pace.

"OH, daaammmnn," Kevin breathed out in a husky voice as he obliged his request, the stool Edd was propped on rocking in time with his thrusts, the leg tapping against the floor a few times causing a rhythmic noise. Kevin solved this issue by lifting Edd up and off the stool, supporting his full weight with his arms he takes a measured step to the right and leans him against the wall. There he was back against the wall, legs supported by Kevin's arms like stirrups, arms wrapped around his neck as his mouth was being ravaged by Kevin's lips his ass taking the savage pounding that he had demanded, his mind loving every blissful second of it.

"Ffff-uuu-cccckkk," the sound of flesh slapping flesh was hard between each pause, "I'm, getting so, close Kevin, you're going to, you're going to make me cum." Kevin smirks as he continued to kiss Edd to muffle his moans, god were they bringing out the wicked sides in each other. First handcuffs now sex in public, but god was it hot that Edd was also enjoying this just as much as he was. The proof was in the pudding, excuse the pun, as neither of them had touched Edd's cock as it began to erupt all over both of their chests. His ass muscles contracting in time with each explostion of cum that doused them both, gripping Kevin's cock tighter sending him over the edge, emptying his balls deep inside Edd with each thrust of his hips.

Both of them were now a cum covered sweaty mess, their breath labored as they kissed each other lovingly as Kevin let down Edd's legs so he could once again support himself. They stood there for a few moments softly kissing, basking in the warm light of love they had just expressed to each other. "Are you two done in there? Other people need to change too, you know," Edina said harshly, "And you had better not have gotten anything on that dress." Edd buried his face in Kevin's chest as the jock chuckled softly caressing the back of Edd's head, comforting him from his embarrassment.

"Edina," Kevin called out getting a hummed reply, "Can we have a towel?"

She throws in a roll of paper towels and storms off muttering, "Fucking my brother for the whole world to hear," turning back toward the curtain she says loudly, "Where do you think we are? Amsterdam?" She walks off to head for the stage for final presentation, letting out a sigh to relieve her own embarrassment for having witnessed her friend in the throes of passion.

Both of them cleaned up and got dressed quickly to step out from behind the curtain to all eyes on them, everyone stifling a laugh, this included Rave and Nat and Edd went scarlet red. He could only hope that Nat had enough tact not to say anything about this to his father, for if he wasn't dying of embarrassment now he surely would then. Alice comes over to him, her only words on the subject were, "You missed a spot," as she indicates that Kevin still had lipstick smudged on his lips. Taking Edd over to the chair she helps him clean off what was left of his makeup, as he looks around he sees that everyone had already changed and that Edina was just throwing shade. With his makeup finally cleaned off he jumps off the chair and Alice playfully pats him on the backside as she says, "Now get, you two, and try not to make another mess."

As they walked away Nat played back an audio recording of what sounded like wood hitting concrete, earning him a back handed smack to the belly from Rave. Edd stops in his tracks and looks back at him mortified as the man says, "Ah to be young." Alice's husband Kev could hardly contain his silent laughter and had to hide his face from them by turning away. Alice bit her bottom lip trying to stop the trembling of her mouth as she contained her who amusement, Rave hid his mouth behind his hand and turned his head to the side. Edd's face went from beet red to scarlet and he quickly turned and started to head for the stage door and back to the show room area of the complex.

Neither man could look Edd's father in the eyes at the moment, their fears that Nat might have sent the audio file to him with some quip attached to it. They decided it was best to let the whole thing die down for the night and watch the rest of the show from the side lines of the show room. Cheering loudly for their friend as the foot-tall crown was placed upon her head with a bouquet of roses in her arms, she looked like she was about to cry as she accepted the crown.

From that day forward, if Edina ever wanted to make her friends blush all she had to do was mention this night or of a stool tapping the floor and both Kevin and Edd would instantly shut up and go red in the face. It was the perfect tool to end arguments or silence them so she could get her point across, or just for her amusement. So in essence, they would hear about this day for the rest of their natural lives, in fact the last joke Edina would make to her lifelong friend in their seventies would be about this day.


	85. Adventures in Babysitting

Chapter 85 – 12th Grade - Adventures in Babysitting

 **A/N- For those who might be curious where Eddy is storing that foot-tall crown at since he isn't out to his parents about Edina. The answer is simple, Justin is holding it for him at his house.**

The month of February came to a close, ushering in the month of March and the posters that now hung on every notice board of the school reminding seniors of the upcoming prom. This year's theme of Starry Night had been decided by the prom committee and every poster announcing the event was made with the backdrop of the famous Van Gogh painting. It was during their lunch break that Edd and Kevin found Justin and Eddy talking in front of one of these posters. "Hey, you two," Eddy calls out as he sees his two friends approaching, "We were just wondering if you guys were going this year?"

He motions toward the poster drawing their attention to it, "Well fuck yeah," Kevin responded without missing a beat.

"We are," Edd asks, not that he was against it, it was just the first he has heard about Kevin's interest in attending the event.

Kevin turns to him, slightly bowing like a southern gentleman asking a lady to dance at a cotillion, "Eddward Vincent will you do me the honor of accompanying me to this year's prom?" Looking up at Edd while still bowing his trade mark smirk upon his face.

"Mmmm," Edd tapped the side of his chin in thought, teasing the man, "I do beleive I'm not doing anything important that night like washing my hair, so I suppose I can go with you."

Kevin squints his eyes, though amused he still had to say it as he stood up straight, "Smart ass."

"You love me for my humor," he gives Kevin a quick kiss as an apology.

He steps in and wraps his arms around Edd's waist, giving him an Eskimo kiss, "It's not the only thing I love about you," kissing him softly to accept his apology.

"Guys," Eddy huffed, "We're in public," Justin puts his hand in Eddy's interlocking their fingers to assure him not to be so self-conscious.

Edd and Kevin break their kiss and look around at the students passing them by in the hall, none of them giving a second glance to their PDA, "So?"

And so beings a long cycle of teasing the pair if for nothing more than Eddy's amusement, "You're a five and he's a six, you rode him like a pogo stick, he wore slacks and you wore tights, he pushed inside with all his might, bang bang, he fucked you raw, bang bang, in the stall, bang bang, the noise was clear, bang bang, for all to hear, bang bang, your baby fucked you raw."

"Alright, so you all are going," Justin states to change the subject and put them back on topic, "Then that settles it, we will too." Both of them shift their attention from giving Eddy an annoyed look to looking at Justin questioningly, as Edd's phone chimes in his pocket. Pulling the device out to check his message while Justin explains, "Eddy wasn't sure if he wanted to go if you guys weren't."

"Yeah pizza and a movie sounded better than going to some stupid dance without my friends," Eddy added.

"That gives me an idea," Justin's expression lightened up, "Should we ask Ed and Ang if they want to go?"

"Can they go?" Kevin asks as he was unsure if people who were not students at the school could attend or not.

"Yeah, we'll just bring them as our dates," Eddy answered.

"We'll ask them this weekend," Edd states, reminding them that they would be there for his birthday, "And I told them we would watch M.D. this Saturday."

Kevin asks, "When did this happen?"

"Just now."

"But we're going to go get your birthday present that day," he realized how that made it sound like he didn't want the child around and quickly corrected himself, for he loved that baby, "But it's cool, we can just bring him with us."

Both Justin and Eddy ask, "What are you getting him?"

"As if I could tell you now, it would ruin the surprise," Kevin was so looking forward to giving Edd this present, "You'll just have to wait till Monday to see it."

This had piqued Eddy's interest a little, so it was going to be something that he would either be wearing or using regularly that he would bring it to school with him come Monday. That did narrow the list of possible presents down considerably but it still didn't quite pin point what it could be, driving him mad with curiosity, Edd on the other hand had no problem waiting. Whenever Eddy would ask him in private what it was that week, Kevin would simply tell him to be patient, that he would eventually see it on Monday. This little distraction of trying to figure out what the present could be had taken his mind off a decision that was also rolling around his head. Since the entire school now knew that he did drag, thanks to that little video that was swimming around the internet, along with the fact that most of his classmates seemed to be cool with it, he was now debating on whether or not to go to prom as Edina. His mind was made up half way through the week when some of the girls in his science class asked him what kind of dress he was going to wearing for the event. They had explained that the idea was to come together as a color coordinated group to show their support for him and their unity as a school. Before he had even made his choice he already had the logistics of it all worked out, he would rent a tux, they would take pictures at his parent's house then go over to Justin's to change clothes and from there they would head to prom. This plan was so perfect that he had even impressed himself with its cunning but simplistic execution, now he would just need to earn enough money for the dress he wanted.

Saturday, March eleventh finally came, and from that day forward Edd would be considered a legal adult in the eyes of the government. He could now vote, buy tobacco and lottery tickets if he wanted to, join the military or get drafted. But most importantly he was now legally able to decide to get married when he wanted to without any special permission from his parents. They spent that morning with Leslie and Tony having breakfast at Bob Evans, Edd having French toast covered in blueberries, while Kevin had scrambled eggs and hash browns both covered in cheese, with a side of sausage links and pancakes.

After breakfast they returned home to spend the next few hours watching a new movie on their shared Vudu account, allowing their stomachs a little time to digest their breakfasts and for their friends to arrive before bringing out the cake around noon. Edd didn't want anything elaborate for his birthday, like going to the club, he just wanted to spend the day peacefully with those he loved. As Edd blew the candles out the only wish he could think to make is that he hoped that his family of friends could always stay like this, happy and together. Eddy leans over to Kevin and asks, "So where's this big surprise of a present you've been keeping to yourself?"

"Haven't got it yet," he states calmly.

"Don't you think you've missed the deadline dude?"

"Nope."

"Whatever," god he wasn't kidding when he said he would have to wait till Monday to see it.

As that conversation ended Leslie comes over and hands Kevin a envelop whispering, "Here's our half of his present," then walks over to Edd, pushing back his beanie a little to kiss him on the top of the head, wishing him a happy birthday. After gifts from his friends were opened the group spent the next few hours talking and eating cake as little M.D. was dotted on by the parents.

But by three Ed and Angelica had to leave in order to begin their romantic evening in Summerville, this was the first evening that the two of them had off together since they had gotten married and they were planning to make the most of it. "Thanks for doing this for us you two," she comes over and gives both of them a quick kiss on the cheek before saying her goodbyes to her son.

"Yeah dude's you don't know what this means to us," Ed added.

"There's plenty of diapers in the bag," she starts off her checklist, "Along with his formula, a few changes of clothes, just in case, as well as some of his favorite toys." She took a moment to think, trying to remember if she had forgot anything, "You have our numbers if anything comes up."

"You know they do honey," Ed says as he puts a reassuring arm around her waist, "And we've already put his car seat in your car."

She rushes over to say goodbye to her son once again, kissing the top of his head several times whispering, "Mommy's going to miss you, but I'll see you tomorrow bright and early." The boy looked confused as to why uncle Edd was holding him while his mom was walking to the door and started to whimper looking up at Edd then back to Ang as she walked out of the house.

Bursting into tears once the door had closed behind her, "There, there, it will be alright," Edd cooed bringing him against his chest to rub his back. But the little one was having none of that as he pushed with all his might against Edd's chest, trying to turn back around to look at the door, hoping to see his mother walking back in.

Kevin rummages through the diaper bag while Eddy and Justin made silly faces at him, finding what he was looking for he pulls out one of the toys, shaking the set of plastic keys for him to see. M.D. grabs the toy and immediately tosses them, bouncing them off Eddy's nearby face, with tear filled eyes he gives him a stern look as to say, "How dare you try and placate me with such a measly offering." He turns his gaze back to the door crying out while speaking baby gibberish all the while reaching for the door with one pudgy hand. Everyone continued to do their best to try and calm him but knew that this was the first time that he was left in their care, and understood that he would have anxiety over the situation. Edd shooed them all away as he had realized that they were probably scaring him more than calming him down. He rocked him gently while soothing him for a few minutes until he finally turns away from the door, putting his face in Edd's shoulder to whimper as he slowly started to calm down.

"It's alright buddy," Kevin crotches down to wipe a tear off the boy's cheek, "Your momma will be back, it will be alright." M.D. was only breathing heavily now a sniffle ever now and then as he breathed through his nose. "Come on let's clean that face up," he pulled one of the towels from the bag as Edd turned him around so that Kevin could get a better angle, popping a pacifier into his mouth when he was done. "What do you say little dude, do you want to help us go get Edd's birthday present?" The boy just looked at him indifferently as he sucked on his pacifier, "I'll take that as a yes," Kevin smiled.

Edd slides the little beanie on top the boy's head and begins to bundle him up as it was a little chilly out today, "We're going to," Eddy said pulling on his light jacket and Kevin cocks a brow at him, "So we can help watch the kid," he motions toward the boy.

"Alright," Kevin stands back up giving him a stern look, "But you let him choose what he's getting."

Edd stands and adjust M.D. in his arms, "What is it I'm getting?"

"You'll see babe,"

A quick kiss and goodbyes to the parents and they were out the door with Leslie calling after them, "Send me a picture of what he gets."

It was a short trip by car to Main Street where they parked in front of a line of shops that occupied the first floors of the old federal era row buildings. The second and third floors of these old buildings, just like Edd and Kevin's, contained apartments that the landlord would rent out. Edd looks out of the passenger side window at the old brick building and remarks, "A coffee shop?"

"No, you dork, beside it," Kevin motions to the tattoo parlor next door then opens his door to get the now groggy baby out of his car seat. Slinging the diaper bag over his shoulder Edd followed Kevin and the others into the shop, taking in its well-kept environment as he stepped through the door.

"Welcome to Rat-a-tat, I'm Amanda, how can I help you today," an African American lady in her mid-twenties asked as she stepped behind the counter. She had a hoop ring on the right side of her bottom lip, and a few visible tattoos on her arms and hands, she was wearing tight black jeans and an Alice in Chains t-shirt. As Kevin stepped up to the counter she couldn't help but to coo over M.D., "You're a cute one, aren't you?"

M.D. smiles around his pacifier at her, and Kevin looks down to see his grin before saying, "Yeah, my fiancé would like to get a tattoo."

She looks around the group that had entered and Edd knew she was looking for the girl and possible the mother of the baby. Stepping up to the counter he lightly coughs to bring her attention to him, "I just want to see what you have to offer before I make my decision."

Looking mildly embarrassed for her assumption she slides the books over to him opening it, "We have a wide variety of premade designs to choose from. But if you have something already in mind, you can talk to one of the artists about it and see if what they envision suites you."

"Thank you," he replied and started flipping through the book as Eddy and Kevin looked over his shoulders at the designs.

"I like that one," Eddy says pointing at tribal design dragon.

"Eddy," Kevin chided.

"Alright, I won't make anymore suggestions, sheesh" he replied and kept his opinions to himself from that point on.

Edd flipped through the book for a few more minutes before finding one he liked, "That one," he pointed out an eternal knot band.

"Where do you want it?"

"On my right arm," he replied tapping the arm with the other hand.

"Alright," she pulls the design from the book and leads him to one of the artists, "Simone, you've got a customer."

The young African American girl stands and extends her hand to Edd, introducing herself, "Hello I'm Simone." She wore loose fitting blue jeans wearing a black shirt that looked like the top had been bleached. Her earlobes had gauges, her hair was in a mohawk, her right brow was pierced and she had a decent amount of art on her skin.

He takes her hand and gives it a light shake, "Nice to meet you, my names Edd." Amanda hands the young lady the design and gives her the details about the work she would be doing.

She motions for him to take a seat as Amanda leaves to take care of the front of the store, "Any particular color you want it in?"

"No, black ink is fine."

"Ok," she sterilizes the area and begins her work, looking up for a brief second at the group sitting in the waiting area, "That's a cute kid, is he yours?"

Edd looks over as the hum of the tattoo gun starts and he feels the first lines being drawn into his arm, "No, we're just watching him for some friends while their out on a date."

"That's cool, it's good to have those moments to reconnect with the one you love. I think a lot of people want to make sex the foundation for their relationship, like if the sex aint good anymore then their marriage done. I personally think you have to keep the love strong and everything else will work itself out, I mean the really good sex happens when you love and trust someone."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he smiles fondly at Kevin as he played peekaboo with M.D. as Justin held him. The three hours it took to get the small one-and-a-half-inch wide tattoo done around the circumference of his arm was filled with little delights. From the conversation he had with Simone as she worked, to watching Kevin play horsy with M.D., or flying him around like an airplane just to hear the boy giggle. This birthday, though simple, was the best damn birthday he has ever had, for it made him realize that Kevin would say yes to a question he has been dying to know the answer to.

After the work was done, Eddy takes a quick picture of the tattoo to send to mom while Kevin paid, Amanda being kind enough to keep the amount due between her and Kevin since he had informed her that it was Edd's birthday present. Edd received a few texts from his parents congratulating him on his new ink and complimenting the design and art work, "My parents like your work," he told Simone as she applied the gauze to protect the sensitive skin.

She smiles warmly at him, "Tell them thanks for me," she reaches over and pulls out a pamphlet, "This is what you're going to need to do to take care of it as it heals. It has a list of suggested products," she opens the reading material and points out the section, "A few of which we carry up front, but you might be able to find them cheaper at your local Walgreens."

"Thank you, Simone, I'm looking forward to seeing you again," Edd says as he stands to head to his friends.

"So am I D, you take care."

"You ready babe?" Kevin asks as Edd walks up to them, receiving a nod as a response.

"Y'all have a good night," Amanda calls out as they head toward the door, both ladies waving goodbye to the group as little M.D. mimicked the action by opening and closing his hand at them. From there they said their goodbyes to Eddy and Justin, so they could head up to the drugstore to get a few of the items on the list Simone gave him before heading home to have dinner. Edd took care of a diaper change, entertained the baby and took a check in call from Ang while Kevin made dinner. He fed M.D. his bottle to allow Kevin to eat first, the two of them switching off after he was done so that Edd could eat.

Now fed cleaned and changed the three of them sat down on the floor to binge watch some Phineas and Ferb, in hopes that the cartoon antics would keep the little tyke entertained. Kevin leaned up against the futon with Edd sitting in front of him, his back leaning against his chest with M.D. perched in his lap and arm. "Hmm, this is nice," he hummed into Edd's ear as his hand caressing his knee and thigh.

"Yes, it is," Edd looks down at the little boy who was fighting to stay awake to pay attention to what was going on around him. "Kevin," he hummed to let him know that he was paying attention, "Would you, maybe, like to have kids?"

He replies in a soft voice as to not rouse the boy who was slowly drifting off to sleep, "Do you have to ask?"

"I just wanted to hear it," he was a little self-conscious about asking for he already knew the answer.

"Yes Edd," he nuzzles his neck softly, "I want to have children with you," a sweet kiss to his nape.

"Good, because I want a dozen," the boy in his arms was now sound asleep and looking like an angel.

Keeping his happy laugh quiet he whispers, "You would," and kisses his neck again, "Now how are we going to get him to bed?"

They were in a bit of an awkward position to do so without waking him but Kevin somehow managed to shimmy his way out from behind Edd without jarring him too much. Taking the baby from him, M.D. only mildly stirred from his slumber as he was moved from one set of arms to another but quickly fell back to sleep again. Heading into their bedroom they placed the boy gently down in the middle of their bed, as Kevin wasn't keen on the idea of using the car seat as a makeshift crib, so this would be their best option. "I don't know about this," Edd voiced his concerns, "I don't want to roll over and crush him in the middle of the night."

"You won't," Kevin assured him, "It's the same thing as someone knowing not to roll off the bed even though they hug the edge like you do sometimes." Edd gave him a look as to say that he doesn't do that, "Or how a napping parent knows not to roll over in their sleep when their kid is laying on their chest," Edd recalled seeing pictures that Angelica had posted on Facebook of Ed napping with M.D. on his chest. "So, it's going to be alright, trust me," he assures him as he slides into the bed next to the sleeping child, Edd hesitantly following his lead, turning out the light the two of them joining the toddler in sleep. Only being roused from their slumber once when M.D. woke up in the middle of the night scared because he didn't recognize his surroundings. Kevin took that shift, soothing the boy in his arms as he rocks him slowly in the recliner in the living room, lulling him back to sleep again twenty minutes later, the pair rejoining Edd, sleeping through the rest of the night.

The next morning Edd wakes up to an empty bed and the sounds of Kevin talking silly to M.D. in the other room. Walking into the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee he finds Kevin giving the boy his bath in the sink, getting him ready for when Ang would pick him in a little over an hour. M.D. laughing and splashing the water with his hands at the funny expressions Kevin was making at him.

Walking back into the living room Edd turns on the T.V. and retrieves the diaper bag to help get the boy dressed as well as to make him his breakfast, nearly dropping the contents of the bag as the Summerville morning news broadcasts a story. "A group of churches are planning to protest this year's prom in a local small town," the reporter stated as the picture in the top right corner of the screen had a circle with a slash through it stamped over the word prom. The text at the bottom of the screen said Peach Creek High's Prom to be boycotted, the news report started, "When news circulated that several gay students at Peach Creek High planned to bring their dates to this years prom, several residents of this small town were in an uproar."

"Kevin," Edd called out.

"What?" he replied as the sound of water splashing a few times could be heard.

"My kids go to that school," a heavy-set woman spoke to the reporter, "And it isn't right what they're doing."

"Melissa Preston is just one of many parents speaking out on this issue," the reporter continued.

Then the audio switches back to Melissa, "Trying to influence our kids, making them think that this type of behavior is alright."

Kevin walks into the room with M.D. bundled up in a towel, "What is it babe?"

The scene on the T.V. shifts, "We at the Light of God ministry plan to fight this with every ounce of strength we have." It was now an older lady in her early sixties on the screen, the name at the bottom read Tina May Rockwell-Carter. "That these sinners will not go unchallenged, 'You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female, it is an abomination' Leviticus 18:22. So what do they do in response to gods decree, but make a mockery of womanhood by passing themselves off as the fairer sex, to trick our men into their perverse ways, spitting in the very face of god."

"Holy shit," Kevin exclaimed, M.D. whimpered in his arms and Edd gave him a disapproving side glance.

"We are going to the schoolboard this coming Monday to make them see that we have to draw the line here, to say that they can go no further." Edd got the distinct impression that this woman was enjoying the limelight of being on T.V., "That we, as adults, must make it clear that it is unacceptable for them to force their lifestyles upon the impressionable minds of our children and to taint our time-honored traditions with their wicked ways." Kevin picks up the remote and hits the switch cutting her off as she spouted, "That there is only one true path to god."

"How the fuck did this happen," Kevin asks in disbelief as M.D. whimpers again at his cursing.

"I don't know, but I am sure we are going to find out come Monday."

 **A/N- Easter egg, Edd Jr.'s birthday is on 3-11 and if you remember in Winged Cupid Painted Blind Edd Sr.'s birthday is on 11-3**


	86. Witch Hunt

Chapter 86 – 12th Grade – Witch Hunt

With the media attention surrounding the events going on at Peach Creek High, the school board had little choice but to convene a special session on Monday to hear out the case the concerned parents were bringing before them. The moderate sized room the meeting was to be held in was in the government building in downtown Peach Creek. At the head of the room stood three judicial style benches with three seats behind each, behind them hung the state seal upon the wall with the American flag and state flag to the right and left of it. Standing in front of the benches was a single podium where the individual addressing the school board could stand and speak. Behind that was the general seating for those who would attend the meeting, which was separated from the main floor by a wooden divider. The walls were painted an off-white color with no decorations adorning them to break up their sterile appearance.

The room was packed to the gills with concerned parents who were filled with fear on what this could mean for their children and their futures. As well as their opposition who were there to show their support for the youth who only wanted to freely love those their heart told them to. Outside the building a small group of protesters had formed, made up of those people who were unable to attend the meeting because the room had filled to capacity. They were split down the middle by a small squad of police officers who were there to keep the two sides separated as they yelled at each other as well as to try and keep the piece. On the one side of the line the group held up signs that said things like "God hates Fags," or "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." Some in the group were trying to goad their opposition into a fight, believing that their heterosexual might would easily win, while others sang gospel music to try and drown out their opponents. On the opposite side of the line they held up signs that read, "Love is Love," or "Love conquers all," a few on this side of the line had chosen to ignore the words being yelled at them while most took the bait and fired back at what was said to them.

Inside the building the meeting begins as the gavel is dropped, "We convene this special session of the school board for the township of Peach Creek, the county of Grove in the state of Indiana. The purpose of this special session is to address the concerns that some of the citizens have for the upcoming prom." Mr. Dench (Republican) motions with his right hand, "Mrs. Rockwell-Carter if you would," beckoning her to come forward.

The older woman stands and walks forward past the separator to take her position at the podium, she wore a dark blue dress suit with matching heels. "Thank you, members of the board," she addresses them as she lays her papers on the podium, "I have been asked to represent the concerned parents in this matter." Alice scoffs quietly from where she sat knowing full well that this had nothing to do with representing anyone's concerns except her own interests with being in the spot light. "Ladies and gentlemen, we do not bring this issue before you out of spite or malice, but out of a genuine concern for the protection of our religious beliefs and rights. For example, the rights of those who would be catering this event to not have to choose between their livelihoods and their religion. They shouldn't have to be forced to return the money they have already been paid, and put their business in jeopardy, to uphold their religious beliefs. And what of the owners of the facility that will be hosting the prom, they shouldn't have to choose between imperiling their immortal souls or legitimizing something that their religion deems to be a sin."

"Excuse me Mrs. Rockwell-Carter," Mr. Jackson (Independent) interrupts her, "But so far your arguments seem to be nothing more than threats."

"I apologize, but that was not my intent," she gives him an apologetic smile, but inside she was glad that he had caught on to what she was saying. "But many businesses throughout this great country have expressed the opinion that they would prefer to uphold their religious beliefs over making a profit out of sin, the aforementioned businesses being among them. The most important issue here is not the bottom line of a business but of the concerns of the parents and the welfare of the children involved. Most of the parents who send their kids to your school have expressed the same belief that religion and their faith are of the highest importance to them and do not wish for their kids to be exposed or influenced by a life of sin."

"What are you trying to suggest madam?" Mrs. O'Neal (Democrat) who was sitting on the left bench asks, "That a heterosexual student being exposed to a homosexual student on a date will somehow turn them homosexual?"

"There have been several studies that show that children raised by homosexual parents are seven times more likely to develop homosexual or bisexual tendencies." She looks to each of the nine members of the board as she continues speaking, "These studies prove that what children are exposed to in their environment has an impact on their sexuality."

"I would think that these young adults," Mrs. O'Neal adds, "Who are, in most cases, eighteen, have already developed their sexual identities and are not going to be influenced by others to change."

Tina May gives Mrs. O'Neal and disapproving look, "It would be irresponsible of us to ignore the possibilities that they are still able to be swayed in such matters."

"You trying to make it sound like sexuality is," Mrs. O'Neal starts.

But Mr. Dench cuts her off, "I'm sorry Mrs. Rockwell-Carter but your time to present your argument is up." He motions toward the general seating, "Thank you for that most educational presentation," and waited for her to take her seat before calling out, "Next is a Mrs. Anderson."

"Thank you, members of the board," she greets them as she takes the podium, "I've been asked by PFLAG to represent the LGBTQ students." She clears her throat before beginning, "The opposition wants to talk about the effects of environment upon the young, alright let's talk about it. When I child grows up in an environment that tells them that people like themselves are sinners, or are disgusting, they will hide. Or are made to feel like they would be unwelcome in the home that is supposed to be protecting and nurturing them if they were honest about who they really are, they will lie. These studies do not show an increase in teens becoming LGBTQ, but show an increase in honesty when they are made to feel safe with being who they truly are."

"Do you have any studies to back up your claims Mrs. Anderson?" Mrs. Hernandez (Republican) askes from her position on the right bench.

"None that would support the claim that the young are hiding their orientation or identity, that was based off my personal experiences." She swallows nervously, "If you will let me I will briefly tell you my story," she looks over her shoulder at her husband who nods to give her his support.

"Briefly please," Mrs. Hernandez says as she motions for her to continue.

"My name is Alice Anderson, but that is not the name I was given on the day I was born. You see I am a transgender woman, and when I was younger, I would have done anything to keep my gender identity a secret from my family and friends. I was afraid of being treated differently because of who I am, terrified of being cast out or shunned by those I loved. My father was a preacher at the time and my mother is, to this day, extremely religious. Our family, being the religious leaders of that church, had to uphold a certain image in the eyes of our parishioners, we had to be the guiding light of faith and morality. For a few years I was really quite successful in my deceit, keeping my secret hidden from those around me and playing the part of studious, all be it, rebellious Eddward."

Mrs. Rockwell-Carter cocks a brow at the woman standing at the podium, "But I made a mistake that brought my secret into the light. I don't regret the events that led up to the pictures that were taken that forced my outing, for they were the first steps for me to become who I am today, I only regret that I hadn't been honest sooner. The love of a parent is supposed to be unconditional, but my mother's love had conditions attached to it, me being straight and CIS gendered among them. And because I didn't fit this mold she had built for me, her solution was to cause me pain, both mentally and physically, with the hope that I would change."

Mr. Dench interrupts her, "Is there a point to all this?"

"Yes, sir there is, that the "environment" this woman is so set on upholding by segregating a group of students and denying them the right to participate in this prom will not ensure sexual purity. That her final solution of bullying a minority to uphold her religious beliefs will not magically cure someone of their identity. Just like how being raised by heterosexual parents didn't change the sexual orientation or gender identity of those who she seeks to punish, nor did it change Eddward Rockwell's gender back to being male." She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly as she releases the tight grip she had on the podium, "In closing I would like to remind you that excluding or denying one group, no matter how small, the same rights afforded to the majority is not only ethically immoral, but goes against everything Jesus has taught us about kindness and how we should treat one another." She looks at the board and see that the majority of them did not appear to be moved by her statements, "Thank you for your time," she turns to walk back to her seat.

"Thank you, Mrs. Anderson," Mrs. O'Neal says as she side eyes the stunned look on Mrs. Rockwell-Carter's face with mild amusement. "Is there another person present who would like to say anything on this matter?"

The meeting continued with a few more speakers from both sides of the issue taking the podium and ending a little over an hour and a half later with the gavel dropping and the school board informing them that they had to debate the topic further before coming to a decision. Alice could feel the piercing glare of eyes on the back of her neck as she walked out of the small meeting room arm in arm with Kev, "Who dare you," she turns and sees the malice in Tina May's eyes.

"Excuse me," she looked at her biological mother with disbelief.

"How dare you try and use my dead son to further your gay agenda," she looked as though she was about to pop an artery in her forehead.

"Oh, so you're still telling that lie are you, but I refuse to let you use me as your pity story anymore," a condescending smile spreads across her face, she was glad that she was able to strike a nerve with this woman.

"You are not my son," she sticks her finger that was starting to show signs of arthritis in Alice's face.

"No, I am not your son, nor am I your child anymore. You gave up that right when you decided to send me to that pray the gay away camp, and I chose to ran away from you."

Alice turns to walk away but Tina May grabs her by the arm, "You are going stop slandering my name with your baseless lies, or so help me."

Alice softly laughs giving the woman an evil look, "You are more than welcome to bring forth whatever lawsuit you think will satisfy your moral dignities, but I can assure you I am who I say I am. And with one little swab of the cheek, a paternity test will prove my identity sufficiently to any court, so if you will excuse me," she yanks her arm free from her grasp, "I have places to be and more important people to see today."


	87. Spreading the Word

Chapter 87 – 12th Grade – Spreading the Word

Edd lay upon their bed texting his father as he took a small break from doing his half of the chores while Kevin was at work. He was wearing one of Kevin's Summerville University football jerseys that nearly swallows him whole and a pair of black denim shorts that went halfway to his knees and were barely seen under that jersey. Laying on his back he finishes reading the message that detailed Alice's plan to provide an alternative to the prom for the LGBTQ students who didn't feel safe or comfortable going to the official event. He purses his lips to the side as he thought of a response, his fingers quickly darting across the keyboard on his phone, "Are we teaming up with PFLAG to help spread the word?"

"Yes, Alice is already on it," his father replies a moment later.

"How about a police presence?" He knew there was no hope of keeping this from the haters and didn't want this to become a shit show once they arrived to spew their bile that evening.

"That's a good point," he responds, and a second text follows a few moments later, "How about I talk to your mother and see if she would be willing to pull on the police chiefs heart strings for us. Being the concerned and protective parent that she is, I dare say she would probably tell him that she would be out there cracking skulls herself if he didn't do anything about it."

"Ah, so reverse psychology then, protect the haters from my mother's wrath," Edd snickers at his own joke.

His father sends a laughing emoji along with the message, "Exactly."

The door to the apartment opens and Kevin calls out to Edd, and he responds, "I'm in the bedroom."

"I bought lunch babe," Kevin replies as he makes the short walk from the front door to the bedroom, the sound of plastic rustling in his hands. He steps into the room to find Edd sprawled out on the bed texting, and the sexy sight of his boy wearing his jersey. "Hm, but I see you've already got desert ready for me," he quickly sits the carryout bag down on the dresser and crawls into bed with Edd. Kissing up his thigh as he made his way to lay down next to him, his hand caressing Edd's stomach through the familiar fabric of his jersey as he brings their lips together for a sweet loving kiss, breathing out, "Hey," as he breaks that kiss.

"Hi," Edd smiles as he bites his bottom lip before his mind snaps back into reality and he remembers that he has been talking to his father. Picking the phone back up off his chest he unlocks the device and hands it over to Kevin to allow him to read the details of Alice's plan.

Kevin's brows furrow in contemplation as he reads through the messages and then starts typing out a response, as Edd looks on, "Hey, It's Kevin, I think PFLAG is a good idea for starters, but I am not so sure how affective they are going to be in this case."

"We are all in agreement with you on that," he replied then elaborated in the next couple of texts. "They are a great first step, but what about all those who have no affiliation with them?"

"My point exactly," Kevin replies as another text pops up.

"Being a small town, I have to wonder how many parents are actually members of that organization. So, it is with that thought in mind that we have decided to leave the responsibility of getting the word out to the two of you and your friends, how you accomplish this is solely up to you."

Kevin looks over to Edd and sees that he was deep in thought trying to think of a way to accomplish their goal, "Do you have any suggestion," Kevin types out.

"I'll be sending you an email next week that will have all the information you'll need, and a flier attached to it. That should give you plenty of time to come up with a plan,"

There was a short pause in the texts and Kevin kisses the top of Edd's forehead, "We should ask Justin and Eddy what they think Monday, OK?"

Edd nods in agreement as the phone chirps as another text comes in, "I'm sorry but I should really let you all go and get back to my friend, I've been ignoring him for far too long."

Edd snatches the phone back from Kevin as he playfully protests his actions and types out a response, "Have fun on your date dad."

"How many times do I have to say this but it's not a date," he adds an emoji that looks like it is pouting at the end of his sentence.

"Ok, you can keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better," Edd replied with a warm smile on his face and a light laugh. He noticed that his father was not going to justify his statement with a response and he lets out another small chuckle.

Kevin kisses him on the cheek and whispers, "They're so obvious," and breathes out a laugh as Edd hums his agreement before kissing him again. "Come on babe, our lunch is getting cold," he rolls off the bed and grabs the carryout bag from Bella Roma and heads toward the kitchen, quickly followed behind by Edd who smacks his ass as he rushes by giggling.

That Monday morning Eddy leans against the locker next to his boyfriend with his books resting in his arms next to his chest, looking at a group of girls a few lockers down from them chatting amongst themselves, "I wonder what they're planning on doing today?"

Justin looks over his shoulder and in the direction that Eddy was and hums in thought, "Well, knowing Wendy she's probably got something up her sleeve that will piss the teachers off."

"I appreciate what they are doing, I just don't see it really changing anything," Eddy's body visibly slumps with his doubt.

"Their intentions are in the right place," Justin assures him as he closes his locker door and nudges his boyfriend with his shoulder, "So don't be too hard on them."

"Yeah, I know, I just hope it doesn't make things worse," Justin looks down at Eddy with a raised brow and knew this wasn't like him. Normally Eddy would be right alongside the girls helping them come up with some foolproof scheme that was sure to succeed, but right now he felt helpless and at the mercy of the powers that be.

"What are you two talking about," Kevin asks as he comes to join them with his arm casually resting around Edd's shoulders.

Justin points over at the group down the hall from them as he speaks, "Trying to figure out what the girls are up to today." The girls in question had just been joined by a few other students and Wendy hands her boyfriend Stan a piece of paper as she speaks to him, obviously giving him a thank you kiss after.

"I hear they're doing a petition this week," Edd chimes in, having asked one of the other students about it when he saw one of the girls collecting signatures in the parking lot as he came in this morning.

"Fat good that will do," Eddy sounded defeated before the effort was even underway.

"You never know, it might do some good," Kevin reassures him.

"You can sign a piece of paper all you want, it's still the people with all the power that decides whether or not they want to listen to you," it was a bleak point but a valid one.

Kevin and Edd look at each other knowingly and Edd pulls out his phone, "Well we do have some good news that might cheer you up." He unlocks his phone and hands it over with the text app opened and scrolled up to the information his father had given him Saturday.

Eddy quickly read through the text as his eyes widened with excitement, well fuck yeah, they were finally going to show those assholes that they couldn't keep a good bitch down, "So this is going to be on the day of prom?"

Edd nods excitedly, glad that his friend's mood had noticeably lifted, as Kevin vocalized his answer, "Yeah, and we were hoping that you guys might be able to help us figure out how to let the students in other schools know about this."

Edd adds to his statement, "Seeing how we are pretty sure they will come under the same fire that we did."

"And they might not even consider going to prom, you know, because they're not welcome," Kevin finishes.

Eddy's brow lifts as his gaze shifts from his three companions to the group of girls down the hall from them, "I might know a way," he says almost to himself as he begins to walk in their direction. "Hey Wendy," he calls out as they near them.

"Oh, hey there D," she greets Eddy.

"He's D," Eddy points over to his friend beside him who wiggles his fingers to signify who he meant, "And I'm Eddy," he finishes correcting her gently. "So, the other day you told me that your cousin goes to Lemon Brook, right" he takes her eager nod as a sign to continue, "And they're family right?"

"She's my cousin, so of course she's my family," Wendy responds as though the answer was obvious as she leaned into Stan's embrace.

Justin turns his head trying to hide and contain his laughter as Edd clarified, "What my friend means to ask is, are they LGBTQ?"

"Oh," she mouthed the word as she said it, "Yeah she is so totally a lesbian, she's ah,' she searched her memory, trying to find the word that she heard her cousin use.

"Please don't," Eddy said under his breath as he rubbed his temples. He knew that Wendy had good intentions, but he begged god in heaven that she didn't say a certain word that, even though used by the group to disempower and reclaim it, would be considered offensive if used by others.

The word she was looking for finally snaps into Wendy's mind, "She's a Kiki." *** (See A/N at the end)**

"Well cool," Eddy stated, glad she hadn't used the D word, "Well we were wondering if you would talk to her about this," he shows her the information about Alice's plan on Edd's phone.

She reads through the information quickly as Stan reads over her shoulder, her face lighting up as she nears the end, "Oh shit, that's awesome, she'd definitely be interested in that."

"We'll be getting some fliers next week," Edd says drawing their attention to him, "So please ask her if she would be willing to pass some out to the other students at her school."

"Oh absolutely, I know she would be happy to."

"Can I get some too," the four boys turn their attention to Stan who was rubbing the back of his neck nervously under their scrutiny, "My friend goes to the catholic school in town and I'm sure he would want to go with his boyfriend."

Eddy opened and closed his mouth several times trying to find the right words as he was mildly in shock, "Um, yeah that's great, we're grateful for all the help we can get."

"Anything for you guys," Wendy replied for the both of them cheerfully as the warning bell rings letting them all know they needed to head toward class. "You've got my number Eddy," she says as she starts to walk away, "Just text me when you have the fliers," waving to him then turning to face the direction she was walking arm in arm with Stan.

The four friends all turn and start heading toward their first class as a group, Eddy's lips turning up into a happy smile as he says, "Ask and the lord shall provide."

 **A/N- Kiki has a few meanings. The one used in this chapter is from the 1940's and refers to a gay woman who is comfortable being the aggressive role or passive role. The next is known from the song performed by the Scissor Sisters, I want to have a Kiki, which refers to having a party or just hanging out with your friends. So the next time you're out BSing, gossiping or poking fun at your best friend just know that you are having a Kiki. The third is the evolution of ball culture, competition and support structure. LGBTQ people have always had to support each other, ball culture and Kiki ball culture are one of the examples of this support system.**


	88. Let's Have a Kiki

Chapter 88 – 12th Grade – Let's Have a Kiki

 **A/N- So yes, I have fallen into the Creek, so please excuse the references.**

Edd and Kevin made their way home to get ready for tonight after dropping Justin and Eddy off at their respective homes. An energy of nervous anticipation course through their bodies as they hoped for a good turnout for tonight's event, after all that everyone has done for them it would be a waste otherwise. As they walked hand in hand from the parking lot across the street to their apartment building they discussed their expectations for the evening, unaware of the two pairs of eyes that watched them from the front door of their apartment building.

Stepping up on the curve, "There's my little Boo-boo," and Kevin stops dead in his tracks as he hears his Aunts nickname for him said in that all too familiar voice. The pairs eyes turn toward the smiling woman as Edd softly repeats the nickname under his breath with mild amusement.

Quickly releasing Edd's hand he rushes over to give his Aunt Tina a warm hug, "I've missed you," Kevin could feel his voice crack as he spoke.

"I know Boo-boo," she caressed the back of his head as they rocked back and forth in that hug, "I would have visited sooner, but you know moneys been tight."

Edd couldn't help the warm smile that danced across his face at the bitter sweet reunion as he chuckled the nickname again, "That boy was always hurting himself when he was younger." Edd looks to his right and sees that Kevin's Aunt's friend had come to stand next to him, a similar warm smile upon her face as she watched at the pair of family members reconnecting. "And that's what he would always say 'Aunt Tennie, I got a boo-boo' and the nickname just kind of stuck with her," she turned her attention to him and extends her hand to him, "I'm Patty."

He takes her hand and gives it a gentle shake as he gives her his name, "Are you two coming?" They look back over to see Tina holding open the door leading to the stairs, a playfully stern look upon her face as they approach her. Patty apologizing for the slight delay with a quick chaste kiss as she passes her wife to head up the narrow stairs of the building. Entering the apartment, Tina whisks Kevin away to the front bedroom with a quick apology that she needed to talk to Kevin in private for a moment.

Sitting on the couch Patty looks around, taking in the warm homey feel of the living room, "It's a lovely place you have here."

"Thank you," Edd replied softly as he took the seat next to her.

"It reminds me of the first apartment I shared with Tina," she looks him in the eyes with a warm reassuring smile, "Kevin's lucky to have you in his life, you know." Edd returns her smile shyly, with a curious look in his eyes, "I mean you're practically all he talks about on messenger."

"Really?" Edd could feel the flush of embarrassment in his cheeks for asking, he knew he couldn't be the only thing Kevin talks about to his Aunts.

She nods and hums out her agreement, "Yeah, its either something he's proud of you for, like making amends with your father, or," she scrolls through her messenger app, "Something cute you've done."

She hits play on a video and hands him the phone, ruff sounds could be heard as if someone's hand was brushing against the microphone as the camera rotated around to face the person holding the device. There was Kevin holding the phone over them, a warm smile upon his face as he recorded Edd while he slept, little M.D. laying in-between them close to Edd's chest. "My handsome man and his godson," Kevin whispers as the smile grows on his face, he leans over and kisses Edd on the forehead. Running his fingers gently through Edd's hair he looks back up at the camera, "He wants to have kids with me Tina, can you believe it? I really can't tell you how happy that makes me right now." M.D. starts to fuss a little and his hands begin to rube across his face as he fought against waking up. The camera angle shifts rapidly for a few seconds as Kevin coos at the child and sets the phone down on the bed, "Come on champ, lets get you some breakfast." M.D. whimpers as Kevin picks him up off the mattress, a soft cry escaping the child as he fussed at being awake, Kevin making soft gentle noise at the child. The phone is picked up again and he films himself walking through the apartment with M.D. tucked into his other arm, "Can you imagine me with twelve kids Tina, crazy right? But that's how many he wants," he softly laughs to himself at Edd's joking number, the happiness he was feeling at that very moment was showing brightly in his eyes. "I just thought you guys should know, I love you, and I'll see you later," he sets the phone on the counter and Edd could hear him talking to M.D. before the recording stops.

Handing her back her phone he could feel his cheeks flush an even bright red, and suddenly felt very self-conscious as he tried to hid them from the world. Whether it was because she has seen him sleeping and the mess that he calls hair, or this knew knowledge that Kevin does these cute little things to show him off to the few members of his family that he has kept in contact with, Edd was unsure. But this unexpected confirmation on how much Kevin loved him was also making him feel good and filled him with joy that was shown to the rest of the world as a smile spread across his face. "Thanks Boo-boo," the door to the bedroom swings open, "You don't know how much this means to us."

Patty stands, "Thank you for having us, and it was nice meeting you," she addresses Edd then heads towards the door and Tina.

"But you two just got here," Edd stated.

"The two of you still have to get ready for tonight," Tina replied, "And we shouldn't keep you. Besides we'll be there tonight and can get to know each other then, not to mention I still have to kick our cousins ass, to remind him of what an idiot he is." She then turns her attention back to Kevin, "And don't you be forgetting that we'll be here around ten tomorrow, so I expect you to be up and ready by then or it will be your ass that's next in line for kicking."

"Yes ma'am," Kevin replied meekly.

"You'll make sure he's up, wont you Edd?" He gives her a reassuring nod, "Alright, well we will see you boys tonight," she opens the door and allows Patty to walk out first, "It was nice meeting you Edd," she waves to the boy then walks through the door.

"Likewise," Edd replied as the door swung closed behind the two ladies while Kevin let out a groan of frustration as he looked up to the heavens begging god for help. Getting off the couch Edd hurries into the bedroom to sooth his agitated fiancé with an apparently much needed huge and kiss on the cheek, "What was all that about?"

"Don't be mad," Kevin whispered.

"I promise I will not be mad," Edd soothed.

"I kind of agreed that we would go with them tomorrow."

"To where?"

"A family reunion," Kevin could feel Edd tense up in his arms, "I know, I know, I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad," Edd reassured him, but he was shocked. A family reunion would mean that Kevin would be face to face with his father again, the man who beat him and kicked him out into the world with nothing but the clothes on his back for being who he is, "But why did she ask?" There had to be a good reason Kevin would put himself through this for her, as well as for her to ask it of him, he could feel the tension in Kevin's body as he held him.

"She's coming out tomorrow and has asked for our support."

"Okay, I get it, and we'll be there for them," he let out a deep sigh to release his anxiety over the upcoming day, "But which one should I bring with me? The pepper spray or baseball bat?"

"Both, probably," Kevin let out a nervous halfhearted laugh then pulled himself up by the bootstraps, "Come on, let's not think about this tonight, we've got a prom to get to." Giving Edd a quick kiss he heads over to the closet to pull out their tuxedos and hands Edd his. They now only had a short time to take a shower, get dressed and head over to the parent's house to take the mind-boggling number of photos Leslie would want to take.

Across town Eddy was already at Justin's house changing out of his tuxedo and into the dress Edina would be wearing tonight, having already done the pictures at his parent's house just a few short moments ago. Her outfit was a form fitting strapless blue gown with silver sequins around the bust and along the lower hem of the dress. "Holy hell," Edina groaned as she gently slid the gown over the foam padding secured under her pantyhose, "I think I'm wearing enough padding that I could walk away from a car crash without a scratch."

"Can't be helped baby," Justin added as he helped ensure that the foam didn't move.

"The things I do to look beautiful," Edina breathed out once the dress was up over her waist.

"You always look beautiful to me," Justin replied then stole a kiss before helping her secure the strapless bra then zipping up the back of the dress for her.

Edina turns around and steals another kiss, "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I don't know," Justin hummed then stole yet another kiss, "Maybe because you were born an angel." Edina couldn't help the small happy laugh that slipped past her lips, the joy she felt had to be expressed and was infectious as Justin joined in with his own happy laugh. Regaining his composure a few seconds later, "Come on, we probably should get going, because you know my mom, she's more than likely already waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs with her camera." And she was, though she did reign in her excitement and kept the number of photos that she took to a minimum, ensuring the couple would be on time to meet their friends at the rink.

As both sets of couples pulled into the parking lot of the Peach Rink their hopes for the evening started to sink as there were only a few cars in that lot, and most of them belonged to those who were organizing the event. The upside however was that there were no protestors on sight so far to ruin the night for them. Stepping through the door they took their prom photo under a white vine covered arch crowned with two intertwining hearts at the top. As they stepped into the building furthey, they find Double D's father and Kevin's cousin talking to Rave and Nat by the DJ both, "Anyone else show up yet," Edina asks with nervousness in her voice.

Edd Sr. shakes his head and replies, "You're the first to arrive."

"Ah man, this is going to suck if no one else shows up," Edina whines and slumps into a nearby seat.

"Don't be like that little sis, it's still early," Rave reassures her, "And if the worst comes to worst, you can just think of it as a very expensive double date."

"Yeah, we'll just break out the skates and have our own fun," Nat added earning him a look from Edina that very clearly stated that she would not be skating in her dress, thank you very much.

But undenounced to the small group at the Peach Rink was that shenanigans were afoot at the Grove County Social Clubs charity ball room as seven sets of couples approached the entrance. And some two-hundred yards away at the entrance to the grounds a small group of protestors stood upon the public sidewalk carrying signs. Shouting their hateful slurs at the cars that dared entered the grounds, admonishing those attending the school funded event with fear mongering and hate speech. For to attend meant they condoned those who were different and deemed sinners, thus endangering their own immortal souls in the eyes of the protestors.

But I digress, what is important to note is what the couples found waiting at the entrance for them as they approached. The principal of the school had been instructed by the school board to personally oversee and ensure that all students attending were in clothing appropriate to the gender that appeared on their records. "Now Wendy," the man said as he held up his hands, motioning for the group to stop in a nonaggressive way.

The girl feigned innocence, "Is there something wrong Principle Turner?"

"You know I can't let you all in dressed like that," he gestures towards their clothes.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing," Wendy looks down at the black tuxedo she had on, as though she was making sure there was no unknown damage to the garment.

"You know what's wrong with it," his tone was sterner as he addressed her boyfriend, "And Stanley, I can't believe you're a part of this too, a fine upstanding boy like yourself should know better." The boy was wearing a hot pink gown that looked as though it had come straight out of the eighties with its big puffy shoulders and frilly dress. The jock only gave him a weak embarrassed smile and soft laugh as his response. Looking down the row the principle also saw that all the girls in their group were wearing tuxedo's, and that all the boys were wearing dresses save one, the little twitch blonde boy, who was of course accompanying his boyfriend to the prom. "Not you too Craig," the principal exclaimed, which only earned him the finger from the tall boy in the scarlet satin dress.

"There's nothing wrong with the way we're dressed," Wendy brought his attention back to her and away from Cartman, as the principal tried to figure out what the hell the boy was wearing.

Clearing his throat, he gives her his final answer on the matter, "I'm sorry Wendy, but I simply cannot go against the school board on this. I hope you understand that it is out of my hands," his eyes were apologetic as his hands were truly tied on the subject by the boards ruling.

"Alright, we get it, we know when we're not wanted," she turns and pulls out here phone, beginning a group text, "Come on guys, we've got better places to be then this shit hole." Her lengthy message ended with the word sparkle, the recipients of that message in return responded with a single word of their own, sunshine.

Back at the rink a small crowd of LGBTQA students had started to fill the building as Wendy and her group of friends arrived, having been delayed by the boys who insisted on changing out of their dresses. They were now a stark contrast to their dates as they walked in the building, as the girls were still wearing their tuxedos and the boys now wore jeans and t-shirts. All but Craig that is, the noirette didn't give enough of a fly fuck as to what others thought about him to be bothered with changing out of his dress.

"Hey guys," Wendy exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Edd and Kevin's necks, "This place is getting lively," she looked out from where they stood at the group of twenty students that were now on the dance floor

"Yeah, we were starting to get worried that it was going to be a flop for a moment," Kevin replied as he smiled at her, grateful that her and her friends had decided to come here instead of the prom.

"Don't worry dude, there's more on their way," she surveys the rink turned dance floor and ponders, "I just hope we have enough room for them all." And when she said that there was more people on the way she meant it, as those who she had texted early began to arrive with their dates over the course of the next thirty minutes, the number of those in attendance had quadrupled in number. She also explained in an amused tone how the haters were now protesting the high school prom and not outside these doors. That apparently Tina May Rockwell-Carter had received a tip from a trusted friend via email explaining that this little get together was nothing more than a well-orchestrated ruse to divert their attention away from the real sinners. "Well she wasn't wrong about that, now was she," Wendy giggled as she finished her story.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Edd teased as he shook his head at her shenanigans. The night remained peaceful and free of unwanted attention as dances were had, and love was expressed. The twitchy blonde and his noirette boyfriend were crowned the royalty of the evening, much to Edina's disbelief, but one must admit that numbers are numbers and being Stan and Wendy's friends helped with their win. But Justin helped Edina get over her loss quickly as he reminded her that she was already his queen and that she had the crown back at his place to prove it.

 **A/N- Yeah, I know, I skimmed the prom, but I really didn't want to put you through another six chapters for one night like I did with the pageant. Sorry Dshell99, I know that means no dance like you wanted, but they're fine where they are right now and if I rushed it, the ensuing drama might spell the end for them and slow and steady always wins the race. There will be plenty of bonding moments to come I promise, just bear with me. And I also promise that this will be the only time I include Creek into my story, but I just couldn't help myself, their pairing is just so cute. Kevedd is my OTP so don't think I am leaving anytime soon, I'm just two-timing is all.**


	89. Invincible

Chapter 89 - 12th Grade – Invincible

 **A/N- The song for this chapter is by Muse. The Edd from this story will be addressed as Double D, while his father will be addressed as Edd. The Kevin from this story will be addressed as his name while the Kevin from Love Looks Not with the Eyes will be addressed mostly as Richard. The other half of this chapter was in Love Looks Not with the Eyes chapter 18. Danger Will Robinson Danger, homophobic and misogynistic rhetoric, violence and three awful fathers.**

Kevin fumbled with his keys to their apartment, as all his attention was firmly fixed on the sensitive spot of Double D's neck, located just behind the lobe of his left ear. Eliciting a soft gasping moan from Double D's lips as he ground his hips into Kevin's, rubbing their erections together through their tuxedo pants. Releasing the light suction he had on his neck, he asks, "How long till your dad gets here?"

Through panting and an excited breath, he replies as Kevin returns his attention back to his neck, "I don't know, his Kevin took him to Walmart to get a few things."

The door to the apartment opens and Kevin extracts the keys, "So, now we just have to see how fast I can get you out of this penguin suit and satisfied before he gets back."

"Uhm," Double D whined, "You know I don't like to be rushed."

Kevin leads him into the apartment, "And you know that we're loud as fuck and can't do it while he is here."

"Point taken," Edd said through giggles and kisses Kevin.

"I knew you would see it my way eventually," a mischievous grin played across Kevin's lips as he shuts the door behind them, leading them to the front bedroom as they continued their exchange of passionate kisses. Pulling the jacket off of him, he lets it fall to the floor as they entered the room and made their way to the bed, playfully pushing him down onto the mattress. He falls to his knees in front of him and quickly unzips his pants, taking his hard manhood into his mouth he hollows out his cheeks, savoring the taste of his flesh and the delicious moans that escaped his man's lips.

The hand that ran through his hair accompanied by the buck of Double D's hips told him that he was doing his job well. The dirty talk that he used to spur him on, "Ooooh yeahhhh, suck that dick boy," made Kevin's dick twitch and strain against the fabric of his pants, "Ahhh, Just like that, take it all the way down," producing a glob of pre-cum that stained his underwear. Coming up to the tip of his cock he teases the head with his tongue, licking it like a lollipop as he stared longingly up into Double D's bliss filled eyes, his free hand undoing the belt and button of his pants. Shimmying them down to his knees he stands, and in a playful show of dominance, flips him over onto his belly, eliciting an excited giggle from the man. Leaning over him, he uses one hand to support himself as he kisses upon the back of his neck while he frees himself from his own pants with the other hand. His hard throbbing cock sliding against the curve of Double D's smooth ass as he reaches for the lube in the nearby nightstand, applying an ample amount to himself and to Double D's supple hole.

Pulling his hips up off the bed so that he was in a more doggie style like position, he pushes himself in slowly as he moans out, "Ohhh, babe, you feel so fucking good." Spitting in his hand he reaches around to stroke his loves cock, for if it was going to be a race against time he was going to make damn sure that his man was well taken care of. Stroking his dick in time with his thrust he was quickly reaching his climax as the erotic moans coming from Double D, as well as the prospect of getting caught by his soon to be father in law, drew him closer to the edge.

He grunts in time as he bucks hard and rough, running the palm of his calloused hand along the curve of his loves back, "I'm going to cum," Double D panted as he leaned back, thrusting down hard on Kevin's cock, urging both of their orgasm on.

Kevin slides his free hand up his chest to play with his lover's nipple, bringing the dress shirt up with it. Aiming the head of his cock toward his belly, he whispers, "Cum for me babe," as he looks down over his shoulder and watches as wad after wad of jizz lands on porcelain skin from the twitching dick in his hand. The sight, coupled with Double D's hole tightening around him pushes him over the edge, his cock pulsates uncontrollably as he empties his balls deep inside his love.

Double D leans his head back onto Kevin's shoulder panting, Kevin's rock-hard cock still deep inside him twitching with each breath he took. The red head coaxes him to turn his head toward him with gentle kisses to his cheek, joining their lips they express their love for each other as they bathed in the afterglow. Breaking the kiss, Double D hums out, "Kevin."

"Yeah babe?"

"Could you please get me a towel, it's starting to," Kevin looks down and sees that the liquid was starting to make its way down his hips.

"Oh," he gingerly pulls himself out of his love, "Yeah, just a sec," mentally admonishing himself for forgetting the cleanup supplies in their rush. Walking through the living room to the bathroom at a quick pace there came a knock at the front door, "Um, just a sec," he calls through the door as he enters the bathroom to quickly clean the lube off himself before zipping up. He then made the short trip to the laundry room to grab a towel from the pile they had designated for mess clean ups before making his way back to the bedroom. Answering the door along the way, "Hey there Mr. Vincent."

"Hello again Kevin," Edd Sr. addressed him as he walked into the apartment carrying a few Walmart bags in his left hand.

"Kevin, hurry," Double D called from the bedroom, in mild panic.

"On my way," he calls out then answers the confused look on Edd's face, "Just a little mess," displaying the towel as proof.

"Do you need any help," he asks as he sets down his bags on the couch.

He pauses at the bedroom door and looks back, "Uh, no, we got this." Entering the bedroom he closes the door behind him and hands the towel over to Double D.

He begins to clean up the mess that was now starting to run down his leg, "Dad's already here, I see," Kevin confirms this with a nod of his head. He shakes his head in disbelief of their timing as he throws the towel into the hamper by the dresser, "We really cut that close." A nervous thought crosses his mind as he spoke, wondering if his biological father had heard them as he was climbing the stairs and had politely waited in the hall for them to finish up before knocking. Breathing out a deep sigh he lets his worries go and gives Kevin an apologetic look for his crass words before pulling his pants up and tucking his shirt into them. He made himself look presentable before he walked through the bedroom door into the living room, "Hello dad, I see that your friend got you here safely."

Edd was pulling a few things out of the plastic shopping bags on the couch, "Well of course he did."

"Do you want anything to eat," Kevin asked as he walked toward the kitchen pulling off his tuxedo jacket and undoing the bowtie that was now feeling like a noose around his neck.

"No thank you," he replied as he stood up straight and opened his new toothbrush, "Just some blankets and a pillow would be nice."

Double D followed his father to the bathroom as Kevin went back into the bedroom to retrieve what was asked for. "I think it's really great that you're giving him your support tomorrow," Edd looks at his son in confusion, "Considering your history and all."

He looks down and applies toothpaste to his brush, "Well, we're trying to move past all that," looking back up he tucks the hand that the tube of past was in under his elbow and points his toothbrush at his son, "And how am I going to be supporting him tomorrow."

"You mean he didn't tell you?"

"No, all he did say was that we were going to go someplace together," he turns to the mirror and brings his brush up to his mouth, "What exactly was he supposed to tell me?" Then starts to brush his teeth.

"Oh, we'll I guess he should probably tell you that himself," Edd looks at his son's reflection in the mirror and motions with his free hand for him to spit it out already. "Um, well," he hears the rustling of the blankets being put down on the couch and calls out, "Kevin, help me."

"What's up," he replied as he looks up, seeing Double D's concerned eyes he walks over to him to see what the problem was.

In a hushed voice that could still be heard by Edd he tells Kevin, "He didn't tell him what we are doing tomorrow."

"He didn't?"

Double D shakes his head no and this was starting to drive Edd's curiosity through the roof, for obviously they were already aware of what was going on and were somehow involved in it. "No, he didn't," he looks over his shoulder at his father then back to Kevin, "So should we tell him? I mean he had to have had his reasons for not letting him know what was going on."

Having had enough of this Edd spits out his toothpaste and rinses quickly, "You're killing me here smalls, would you two just spit it out already. I mean if he really wants it to be a surprise."

"That's a fucked up surprise," Kevin interrupted.

But Edd ignored the interruption and continued, "I'm a big boy and I will pretend that I'm shocked."

The two of them looked at each other, knowing full well that Edd needed to know what was going on, but both of them were also wondering why he was keeping it a secret from him. Could he have chosen not to tell Edd about his plans of come out to his family, just in case he decided not to go through with it, in the hopes that he wouldn't disappoint the man any further. "Well, he's," Double D started but was feeling reluctant to divulge the information, as he understood that the choice of come out was Richards alone, that he shouldn't have to feel pressured to do so.

But Kevin felt that Edd needed to know what he was going to be walking into, "We're going to our family reunion tomorrow," he puts his arm around Double D, placing his hand on his shoulder, "All of us."

It clicked with Edd instantly, "And he's."

"Yeah, both him and Tina are coming out to them," Kevin was proud of his cousin and aunt for doing this, a pride he saw reflected in Double D's eyes as he looked at him. His nerves however, were now doing a rollercoaster ride in his stomach at the prospect of seeing his mother and father again after so long.

Edd could feel his nerves tingle at the thought, he knew how homophobic Richard's family could be and what his chances were that they would accept him if he did tell them. "Well that's," he started a sentence that he lost his train of thought on, why had he suddenly decided to do this? Was it because of what had happened at Ed's shop the other day?

"You are still going right," Double D asked as he was nervous that he had inadvertently caused his father to change his mind about tomorrow.

"Of course I'm going," he said in a determined voice as he walks passed them to the living room to start making his bed on the couch, "What kind of a person would I be to let him do this on his own?"

"We're going to be there too," Kevin pointed out. Of course, he would have his cousins there with him, so why would Richard need him there? But something deep down in Edd told him that he needed to be there for him, that it was very important to stand beside him and lend him his strength for what he has chosen to do.

"And I, for one, am personally glad that you will be, for they are going to need all our strength to see them through this." He wraps an arm around each of them and brings them in for a group hug, "We should count ourselves lucky that we have the support of each." Looking up he see that the clock on the far wall was reading twelve thirty at night and he leans back to look at each of them, "It's getting late and we should really be getting to bed." Both young men agreeing with him once they had also seen what time it was, they say their goodnights and head to bed.

Double D woke up the next morning to his dad knocking on the bedroom door, "Breakfast is almost ready, and Tina and the others are on their way, so you should probably hurry up and get ready."

Looking over at the empty side of the bed he asks, "How long has Kevin been up?"

"Almost an hour, he thought that you could use the sleep so he didn't wake you," Edd called back as he walked into the other room. Double D mused as he rolled out of bed on how it had appeared that Kevin has taken on his old sleep schedule as he has taken on his, its kind of funny how we adapt to our lovers.

It wasn't long after Double D had taken his shower, and was halfway through his breakfast, when a knock came at their door. Edd answering it for the two who were busy finishing up their meals, as Kevin had insisted on waiting for Double D to join him before he would start eating. "Is everybody ready?" Tina asks as she walks through the door, her nerves clearly on edge as she looked to and fro for the owners of the apartment, finding them in the kitchen, "You aren't ready yet? We're going to be late," her tone was mildly frantic.

Edd sees that Patty was the only other person in the hall and the noticeable absents of a certain red head, "Where's," he starts to ask.

But Patty supplies the answer before he could finish, "In his car," she points her finger over her shoulder.

Edd moves passed her and calls back as he walks down the stairs, "I'll see you guys in the car."

Patty returns her attention to her panicking wife who was pleading with the young men at the table to get a move on, "Please boys, we need to hurry."

Putting her arm around her shoulder she tries to calm her, "Now dear, let them take their time, your family will still be in the middle of telling their boring stories when we get there and we don't want the boys choking, now do we."

"Yeah," Kevin added with a mouth full of food, "We need to chew our food at least thirty times for proper digestion."

Tina's jaw drops as she stammered a few times before she got out a proper sentence, "Don't be a smartass Boo-Boo, and what exactly are you teaching my nephew D?"

Double D swallows his food and replies, "Apparently I have failed to teach him proper table manners."

Kevin takes another bite of sausage and leans his head on Double D's shoulder as he talks, looking up at him, "You love my bad manners."

With a teasing look of disdain, he holds up a butter knife for him to see, "I will cut you if you get any of that on me."

"Oh, come on now, let's kiss and make up," puckering his lips, he kisses the air in Double D's direction a few times.

Tina begins to softly giggle at their antics, "Ew, I don't kiss men," Double D continued to tease, "What kind of boy do you think I am?"

Patty looks at her wife as her laughter grew, "Do you really want me to answer that," Kevin teased back, "Because I've got pictures."

"Lies, photoshopped lies I tell you," Double D huffed.

"Alright, alright enough," Tina balked as she held her side and tried to control her laughter, her tension had been cut in half. "Thanks guys," she had been reminded of why they were doing this, for the love they each had for the other and that special person in their lives, "But we really should be going."

"Agreed," Double D answered seriously and picks up both of their plates and puts the leftovers into the refrigerator for later.

"Aww, I was eating that," Kevin protested.

"You can have it when we get back," he replied as he closed the refrigerator, "It's not like we're going to be gone long." Hesitantly Kevin stands up and follows Double D to the door behind Tina and Patty, reaching up to the coatrack beside the door, he pulls Kevin's hat off the hook and hands it to him before walking out of the door.

The red head locks the door behind him and yet again hesitates, "Did I turn off the stove," he wondered under his breath.

"It's off," he reassures him and continues down the stairs.

"How about the coffee maker?" Double D stops and looks back at him, "The skillet, I didn't put the skillet in the sink."

"It's fine," he steps back up the few steps between them and takes his hand, "We'll get it when we get back."

"But," Kevin stammered.

Double D stops once again and kisses him soft and lovingly, bringing their foreheads together he looks into Kevin's eyes, "Have I told you how proud I am of you for doing this for them?" Kevin's eyes widen as his fear melts away, "I am, so, let's go stand by our family and show those bastards that they can't hurt us anymore."

Kevin suddenly felt as though he could take on the whole world and as long as Double D was by his side there was no way he could lose, "Yeah, lets go." Stepping out of the downstairs door he looks over and sees Tina standing beside his cousin's car talking to Edd and that Patty was pulling up the front seat for them to get in the back of their rental.

Once in the backseat, Patty climbs into the front, joined a moment later by Tina who starts the car and heads for their destination. Adjusting her belt, Patty turns around in her seat to face them and address them both, "Once we get there, I want the two of you to stay close to us."

"I'm not scared of that bastard," Kevin said boldly.

"Don't argue Boo-boo," Tina admonished him.

Patty continued with her reasoning, "Your cousin will probably be a total wreck after talking to his dad, so we can't count on him if David decides he's feeling froggy."

"Knowing Kevin, he'll probably be in the fetal position balling," Tina said, referring to her older cousin in the other car.

"Tina," it was Patty's turn to reprimand her.

"What," Tina looked exasperated for being called out, "I'm just saying that he has had some emotional issues since the war and agree that we can't count on him to help us against David, or if Tim decides to join in. For we all know that all David has to do is snap his fingers and loyal bro Tim will be right there licking his boots."

Patty had to admit that she was probably right, that her cousin in law was more than likely going to emotionally collapse in on himself. "But you didn't have to over exaggerate it though," her nerves must be getting the better of her again.

"Listen, we all know that he's got problems, problems we can't ignore," Tina taps two of her fingers against the inner bend of her left arm for Patty to see.

"Yeah, you're right," Patty agreed softly.

"Look," Kevin interrupted, "I'm grateful that your looking out for me, but I think we'll be just fine," he says as he squeezes the hand he was holding as Double D looks over at him with the same look of pride in his eyes that he had seen last night.

"Alright, we'll drop it, but if that fucker lays a hand on you," Tina's knuckles went white as she gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Oh, he won't," Kevin assured her as he balled his free hand into a fist on his lap. The rest of their short trip was done in silence, his cousin finding them two parking spots by a lamp post in the second row of the Inn's parking lot. Getting out of the car Double D puts his hand back into Kevin's and squeezes it, getting one in return as Kevin took a deep breath to let it out slowly through his nose. He could tell from the sweat in his palms and the tremble in his breath that Kevin was nervous, but he was going to be by his side every step of the way, and he swore to himself that David was not going to hurt him again. Not if he had anything to say about it, and he had plenty he wanted to say to that bastard.

"Come on, lets get this over with," Richard calls out to the group and leads the way to the restaurants entrance, stopping at the hostess station to let them know what party they were with before being lead into the back and toward the private dinning area. Each step felt like the death march toward his execution, his throat was constricting with fear as he had not seen any of these people in over a year and probably knew damn well what every one of them thought of him. Stopping in front of a set of ornate doors, the hostess slides them open for her guests, allowing Tina and Richard to enter first.

Kevin could hear his grandfather calling out to them as he stepped closer to the doors, "There's the late comers."

As he stepped through the doors he gives Double D's hand a tight squeeze as he saw his great uncle stand to greet his son, "You made it this year." Placing his hand on the man's shoulder he turns to his sisters and excitedly reintroduces them "Carol, Carla, you remember my son..." The conversation fades away into the distance as Kevin's eyes lock with his father's, the man's brow furrows once he sees him and the person he was with.

"What the fuck is he doing here," David said as he stood up and gestured in their general direction. The look of disgust in his eyes and the tone of disdain in his voice sent a spasm of fear down Kevin's body.

"I invited him," Kevin tore his eyes away from his father to look at his cousin, "I think it's time for us to mend the bridges we have burnt, to bring this family back together." His cousin locks eyes with him and he could see the sincerity in those eyes, but he knew that this was nothing more then a pipe dream that would never come true. "I mean it, I want this family to be whole again."

He could see his great aunt Carol say something to his cousin but could not hear what it was, his attention was brought back to his father as he wildly motioned toward them and bellowed, "He's the one who threw us away for his queer boyfriend.

Kevin could feel the fire of anger kindle in his stomach as he opens his mouth to shout out his rebuttal, but Double D beat him to the punch, "More like you beat him senseless and threw him out on the street."

David starts to walk with a purposeful stride around the table, keeping his vengeful eyes on Double D, "Are you getting smart with me you cocksucker?"

Tina and Edd took up a defensive position in front of Double D and Kevin, blocking David's advance as Patty took a step back and pulled out her phone. "You will not lay a hand on my son," Edd says as he stares intently into David's eyes.

"Well if it isn't the little cocksucker from across the street," David said using his size against Edd, trying his best to intimidate him, "Aunt Barb told me all about you. Guess my cousin wasn't enough for you that you had to make sure your own son was queer."

Edd was flabbergasted at his insinuation as Tina looked at her brother with disgust and a murderous intent, "That disgusting and you that isn't how it works David."

"No?" He looks at her in mock shock then to Kevin, "You see that it's a disease don't you Kevin, they made you like this on purpose, but there's still hope, we can still get you help son."

"I'm not your son anymore," Kevin said to him, the raging defiance burning in his eyes.

"You little shit," he tries to squeeze his way between Edd and Tina with his hand pulled back to strike.

"No, you don't David," she said straining to hold him back with Edd's help, forcing him to stop his aggressions a few seconds later as he saw the futility in his actions.

"This doesn't concern you Tina," Grandpa Samuel says over the ruckus.

"Dad," Tina looked at her father in disbelief.

Great Aunt Barbra comes over in a rage and yanks Edd's arm, spinning him around to face her and in a venomous tone practically yells at him "You're that fucking queer boy that did this to my son, AREN'T YOU?"

With no one guarding the gate, David strikes, backhanding Kevin in the cheek, "Little Anthony has made his choice and now he has to live with it," Samuel said in a flat unconcerned tone.

Kevin was stunned by the hard slap to his cheek and Double D was quick to put himself in-between them, "Do you honestly think that you can take me on, you little queer?"

"Any day of the week, dick head," he stared him down, not flinching as Kevin righted himself behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with you people," Carol bellows out from the end of the table as she stands, "These are your children and you're treating them like scum because they are different."

Double D's eyes dart to the old woman then back to David, "What? Do you think that the old bag is going to save you? Come on, let's step outside and I'll show you how a real man deals with things."

"Just like the Neanderthal who couldn't put two words together to form a proper sentence, you solve all your problems with your fists," he looks passed David to his concerned wife who was still sitting at the table, "Makes me wonder how you solve an argument with your wife."

"And just what are you implying big man, with your big words?"

"D don't," Kevin urged from behind him.

"Only that you're a hateful man who takes his frustration out on his wife."

"And what do I have to be frustrated about?" He popped his neck in an act of intimidation.

"D," Kevin urged again.

"That your queer son is getting more ass then you ever will, and you're married."

Edd had more to say on the subject but didn't have a chance as David had gone into a rage, "That's enough of your fucking mouth," he grabs D by the arm and starts to drag him to the door, "Lets take this outside and see just how big of a man you really are."

"Don't you fucking touch him," Kevin yells at his father making the man flinch as he has never heard his son be so defiant to him before. Actually he has once, when Kevin admitted to him that he loved Double D, but that didn't end to well for the young man then. But this time was different as Kevin was seeing red and in a moment of rage he grabs the offending hand and pulls it away from Double D's arm, swinging his father around in one fluid motion he slams his fist into the man's jaw, sending him tumbling to the floor. Leaning over his stunned father and in a rage filled voice he seethes, "Don't you EVER touch him." Standing back upright he steps over his father and pulls Double D into his arms and against his chest, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said trying to calm his racing heart, he knows that he had pushed the man with his words, but he didn't actually think he would assault him and risk jail time.

"I won't let him hurt you, I swear I won't," he shifts his watchful eyes away from his father and towards his aunt then to his cousin, "We should probably go."

He didn't hear his cousin's agreement as his father started goading him, "That's right, run you little faggot, run like you always do you little pussy."

"Fuck off," Kevin spat then quickly opens the door to the room, leading Double D out of the building and towards the parking lot, away from his fucked up family. "Holy shit, I hit him," Kevin said in disbelief as they reached the cars, flexing the hand that still stung from the impact.

"What the fuck were you thinking Kevin," Double D was clearly angry with him, and still being pumped up with adrenaline pushes him roughly in the chest.

Kevin looks at him in shock, wasn't the answer obvious, "I did it to protect you."

"And I love that you're so protective of me," the response was snarky, "But he could get you arrested for assault."

No that couldn't be right, could it, "He hit me first."

Double D looked at him sternly, "Can you prove it?"

"No," Kevin knew that the strike to his cheek wouldn't leave a bruise as the sting of it was already fading.

Double D took a few deep breaths to calm down, "I'm not mad at you, I'm just mad at this whole fucked up situation." He leans his head back and roars out his frustrations as his father brought Kevin's cousin to the car, the man looked like he was about to do exactly what Tina had said he would do.

Tina follows a short distance behind them hollering out, "Y'all are a bunch of drama queens, I swear to god." As she reaches them she checks to see if Richard was alright, giving the man a tight hug that he surely needed.

Double D's anger was starting to melt away but was quickly being replaced with a mild panic. "Think about it Kevin," he comes up and places his hands on Kevin's chest, leaning his head on his shoulder, asking to be held, "If he gets you arrested you'll have a record, and you won't be able to get a decent job."

Kevin obliges him and wraps his arms around him, "That's not going to happen D, you'll see."

"What if they put you in jail," he was nearly in tears as he looks up at him, "What are we going to do then Kevin?"

"What's this all about," Patty asks as Edd and Tina put Richard in the car.

Kevin looks at his aunt with concern, "D's worried that David is going to have me arrested," his own eyes were mirroring the worry that D was freely expressing.

"Fat chance at that," she pulls out her phone and unlocks it, "The wonders of modern technology," and hits play on a video, showing them all that she had recorded the entire thing from the moment David tried to get his hands on him the first time. "If anyone's getting arrested, it's that piece of shit," she stops the video and pockets the device, looking rather pleased with herself.

"Well look at you, my little spy," Tina says giving her wife a quick kiss to the cheek. "So, here's the plan, Edd's going to take Kevin home while we're going down to the police station to file a report. I'm sure they're going to want to take pictures of this," she motions toward the bruise that was forming on Double D's right arm.

Kevin sees the bruise now and the fire of rage was rekindled in him, "I'm going to fucking kill him."

"Woo there stud," his aunts firmly placed their hands on his shoulders as he turned toward the building, "That will definitely get you arrested." Tina added, "Just do as we tell you and we will make sure that this never happens again."

"Ok," Kevin breathed out and continued to take deep breaths to calm himself down.

Edd looks at his sons bruise more closely, "That's going to hurt for a while, but it'll heal," he ruffles the beanie on his head, "I'm so proud of you for standing up to that son of a bitch." Double D smiles weakly as the reality that he could have really gotten hurt hits him, "Now you go with Tina and make sure that bastard pays for what he's done," he hugs him tightly as he speaks, "I've got to go ok, but I'll call you later to see how you're doing."

Double D nods as he really didn't have any words to express how he felt at the moment, but he did know that he wasn't feeling very proud of himself as he had caused Kevin trouble and was probably in more danger then just a simple high school beating. Pulling back from the hug, he leans against the car and watches as his father walks around to the driver's side of Richard's car before climbing into Tina's to go report that bastard for assault.

 **A/N- Hallelujah, after editing this thing twice, for reasons some of you might know, I am finally done and posting it. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, as I am over the trouble it took me to get this one out there.**


	90. Beauty in the World

Chapter 90 – 12th Grade – Beauty in the World

 **A/N- The chapter title is a song by Macy Gray. In Indiana, assault is the threat of bodily harm and battery is the actual attack and are normally charged together.**

The trip to the police station was an hour and a half of each of them filling out a report on the events that took place, answering the questions of cynical cops who thought they had to be lying, even with the video proof. As well as filing the paperwork for the new restraining orders against David, and as they signed the dotted line the man himself was being put into the back of a police cruiser on the other side of town, to face two charges of assault and battery. "Is there any chance that he is going to face a hate crime charge," Edd asked as he handed the sergeant his paperwork. He had looked up the time one could serve for such charges earlier, as he had feared Kevin might be facing them also and discovered that the most for a first-time offense was a maximum of one year. But he knew from experience that the added charge of a hate crime would increase the mans sentence by ten years.

"Indiana doesn't have a hate crime law anymore," the sergeant replied as he tucked the paperwork into the file.

"So, all he's going to get is a slap on the wrist then," Kevin said gruffly with a disbelieving shake of his head.

The sergeant looks at him with a look that told him to watch his tone, "Look son I'm not a lawyer, but here's what's probably going to happen. Your father will more than likely make bail come Monday when the office opens, get himself a decent lawyer and will probably walk out of his trial with nothing more than probation. That's why we filled these out," he pats the folder holding their paperwork, "So you'll be under a EPO until the courts rule on the full restraining order." He stands and motions toward the door of the room, "Now, make sure to call us if anything happens once he gets out. If the man's smart he'll stay away, but if he's not, then we'll take care of it," he looks over at Kevin, "So no more hitting him, ok, you'll just be giving his lawyer more ammo in his defense."

"Thank you, officer," Edd opens the door allowing Kevin to exit first, "We'll keep that in mind."

"That goes for you two Mr. Vincent," Kevin turns around to hear what the officer had to say, "Keep that door and your mouth shut, you don't want to give anyone reasonable doubt as to what really happened, understand."

"Yes sir," Kevin responded, "We'll call you right away if he shows up," reassuring the man that they would heed his advice. Taking Edd's hand he leads him down the hall and back to the small waiting area by the front desk where Tina and Patty sat waiting for them on the hard-plastic chairs.

The two women stand as they see the both of them coming out of the door that separated the waiting area from the office areas. "Is everything alright," Patty asks as she notices Edd's blank expression.

Kevin did not stop to talk about, but instead lead Edd out of the front door to the parking lot, "That asshole is probably only getting a slap on the wrists." He was practically fuming at what he had been told but was taking deep breaths to control his temper on the subject, "And can you believe it but Indiana doesn't have a hate crime law anymore, how funny is that."

"Well, let's at least look at the bright side here, they're not charge you with anything," Tina said hopefully as they continued towards the car, and Kevin gave her a side eyed glance that told her to drop it. He had heard enough on that possibility from Edd on the way down there and didn't want to be reminded that he could have been facing jail time as well.

Kevin had also begun to notice that Edd has been unusually quiet since they left the left the police officers desk causing him to stop in his tracks to turn and look at him, inadvertently causing Edd to run into him. Edd slowly brings his eyes up from the ground and looks him in the eye for a brief second before looking away again and whispering, "Sorry."

Kevin's eyes were mirroring the worry he was feeling, "Are you alright babe?"

"I'm fine," Edd whispered again but did not look in his direction.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," he barked in response, "Can we go now?" Releasing Kevin's hand, he continues towards the car on his own, not daring to look back at him, hoping not to reveal the frustration he was feeling at that moment any further.

Kevin takes a step forward to try and catch up to him, but his arm was caught by Patty who shook her head when he turns to look at her, "Don't push him right now."

"He's probably just as angry about this whole thing as you are right now," Tina added, "Give him time to cool off."

"You're right," Kevin had to agree with them, but it hurt him so much to see Edd in pain, all he wanted to do right now was to wrap him up in his arms and comfort him, to tell him everything would be alright.

The short ride to their apartment was done in relative silence, the only sound in the car was the quiet music coming from the radio for background noise. Pulling up to the curb in front of their building, Patty steps out of the car to pull up the front seat to let Edd out, the man heads straight for the door of the apartment building without so much as a word to her. She gives the door Edd had just entered a side glance before turning her eyes back toward Kevin as he steps out, "Take care of him, ok."

"You two aren't coming up?"

"No Boo-boo, we've got to go check on the cousin," Tina reminds him, adding as Patty got back into the car, "But you call us if you need anything."

"Will do," he responds and pushes the door closed for Patty. He stood at that curb for a few moments, watching their car drive off, before turning to slowly make his way up the stairs to their apartment. Closing the door behind himself and locking it, he takes a few steps in and looks to his right, spotting Edd through the doorway of the kitchen sitting at the table, massaging both his temples with his fingertips. Stepping through the door to join him, he softly walks across the linoleum floor to stand behind him, placing both his hands on his shoulders he silently offer to massage the stress of the day away for him, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Edd stands and removes himself from Kevin's touch, "No," walking over to the stove to pick up the skillet from their earlier breakfast.

"It might help," Kevin insists, drumming his fingers on the back of the chair his hands had come to rest upon.

Placing the skillet in the sink, his back was turned to Kevin as he spoke, "How? How's it going to help?" He rests his hands upon the edge of the sink, leaning his upper body weight upon them, his shoulders riding high as his head hung low, staring into the sink and at nothing in particular.

"You can get your anger out at least," Kevin countered.

"You're right, I'm god damn mad," Edd spins around so quickly that Kevin was surprised that he was still standing. "HE attacks us and says nasty things about us and what's he going to get," he lets out a frustrated laugh, "A blemish on his record." Edd slowly turns back around and again leans on the sink, "Why did you have to hit him Kevin?"

"What?" Is he still going on about that? He steps around the table and towards him, "Oh Edd, don't worry they said that defense of others," he places his hand on Edd's arm and his words were cut short as the man walks away from his touch once again.

Edd's voice was shaking as he spoke, "I was so scared that they were going to change their minds, throw you to the ground at any moment and put you in cuffs."

This was frustrating Kevin to no end, he understood that Edd's depression could make him fixate on things, but this was getting to be too much. Without thinking he let loose with a question he needed answered, "Then tell me, Edd, why did you feel like you had to provoke him," Kevin's voice sounded more bitter then he had intended.

"So, it's all my fault now," Edd said harshly as he turns to face him.

"I tried to warn you," Kevin countered looking at him seriously in the eyes.

Edd looked defeated for a moment, did he really think this whole screwed up situation was his fault? "He hit you," Edd's voice rises to a shout, he turns back around to put some distance between them.

"Oh, so it's alright for you to protect me, but not the other way around," Kevin's voice in volume and intensity as he follows Edd into the living room.

"It's different," his emotional turmoil was evident in his voice but he was not going to waver.

"Why? Because you're not a Neanderthal?" Kevin spits out and Edd opens and closes his mouth looking for the right words to say, the insult he had said to his father flooding his mind. "So, yeah, I've gotten into a few fights in the past, but that doesn't mean," Kevin stops as his heart seizes up at the sight of a tear falling down Edd's cheek and the sound of a sob being fought back. "Oh, babe, I'm so sorry," he quickly closes the distance between them and wraps him up in his arms, "I didn't mean it."

Edd choked out, "I've never thought of you like that, ever."

"I know you haven't, I'm sorry babe," he pushes back his beanie and kisses the top of his forehead.

"He just hit you, and I just wasn't going to stand for it," he rubs his face against Kevin's shoulder, "I was going to make him pay for what he did to you."

Kevin got the distinct feeling that Edd wasn't just referring to today, "So, your first impulse was to resort to name calling," he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. The irritation at Edd's irrational behavior had quickly been washed away by the joy of the knowledge that his man would fight for him in any way that he could.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking," Edd sheepishly admitted, "I can't help it if the only real weapon at my disposal is my sharp tongue."

"It's alright," a kiss to the temple, "I love your sharp tongue."

"I just get so frustrated," he brings his head out of Kevin's shoulder and looks at him properly, "It just seems like whenever we take a step in the right direction, there is always someone there trying to push us all back in the closet." He lets out a sigh and looks down again, "Like they want to wall it up and forget that people like us actually exist."

"They can try, but we'll kick that damn door right back open, wall and all." He looks over at his computer desk as he gently rubs Edd's back and decides that now was as good a time as any, and he had a feeling that it would help cheer him up, "Hey, I want to show you something."

He unwraps his arms from around Edd and slides his hand into his, leading him over to the chair. Taking his seat in the computer chair he directs Edd to sit in his lap and brings the device to life, opening up his emails he clicks on the message from KevinFingBarr. "What's this," Edd asks as the message displays and Kevin goes down to the first link in the middle of the email.

"Something my cousin sent me to help us be prepared for when we are ready," the headline at the top of the page that opened in the web browser was Adopt US Kids and the first bold line under that was Indiana foster care and adoption guidelines.

"Oh my god Kevin," Edd cups his hands to his mouth and all his previous concerns were blown away. This filled him with insurmountable joy, for Kevin has been slowly making their plans come true, and he realized how foolish he was to think that Kevin would throw this all away so easily.

"Right now, I'm just researching, so that we'll know what we'll need to do to prepare for an adoption," Edd turns to him and kisses him passionately eliciting a satisfied hum from Kevin, "I love you," he breathed out inches from Edd's lips as they parted. He clears his mind and turns his attention back to the screen, "I figured we'd wait till I get a job then apply for adoption while you finish up school. And hopefully we'll have a child joining our family by the time you graduate," he turns his head to look out of the corner of his eyes at Edd, "So what do you think?"

"I think it's perfect," Edd had rested his head on Kevin's shoulder and was staring up into his eyes, "We'll just have to talk to Eddy and Justin about it, since we'll have to get our own place before we adopt."

"They'll understand, I mean they already knew that we were only getting a place together during college," Kevin laughs lightly, "It'll be more of a pain listening to Eddy insist on babysitting every weekend."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll have plenty of opportunities," Edd said as he looked at Kevin's hand that he was affectionately playing with. He was warm, comfortable and loved, their troubles seemed to be a distant memory as he cuddled up in those strong protective arms, "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"A few," he says shyly, "Adam or Samantha," a sweet kiss to the top of his head, "How about you?"

"Jim, or Jenna," Edd looks back over at the site, "So how much is all this going to cost us? You know, so we can start saving."

"Well," Kevin says as he scrolls through the information and begins to explain the process as much as he has learned so far. They spent the remainder of the night reaffirming their love for each other as they read through the material, forgetting the harsh words they had said to each other just a short while ago, falling fast asleep in their bed hold each other's in their arms, both dreaming of the family that they would soon be.


	91. Something Old

Chapter 91 – 12th Grade – Something Old

 **A/N- Are you guys ready for the over the top fluff that comes with wedding planning? I know I am, LOL, you all deserve it after all the angst and drama I have put you through in this Fic. I hope you all enjoy the final chapters, and I once again want to say thank you for reading my humble story, I have had so much fun writing it and getting your reactions to it, drama and all, lol. Angela Jackson belongs to Dshell99, and since both her OC and my OC technically have the same nickname (Ang or Angie) to alleviate confusion and since her last name is still Jackson were as Angelica's last name is now Samuels Miss Jackson will be addressed as AJ, (No my first name aint baby, it's Janet, Miss Jackson if your nasty.) And for those who don't know the full name for this personification of myself it is Shara Monique Sumner. So, without further ado, let us begin the first chapter in the conclusion of Loves Fool.**

The final days of our boy's high school lives were fast approaching, as the month of April was coming to an end. With just a little over a month left in the bastion of their youth, their thoughts were now focused more on their upcoming wedding than on the tradition of senior skip day next week. Each young man of course having their own ideas to contribute on what would make their wedding day perfect in their eyes. For Edd, it was hiring a competent professional, someone who could take the reigns and be OCD over every little detail for him so that he could sit back and relax and just get married, instead of running around on his big day like a chicken with his head cut off. And since two of his best friends had just recently gone through the whole ordeal of planning a wedding, he thought he would enlist the help of Angelica to assist him in finding someone suitable for the job.

They spent most of the day Sunday at her apartment while Ed and Kevin were at work, surfing the internet and reading the reviews of potential wedding planners for any clues of support or disdain for the community, as Edd helped to entertain and watch the baby. "Well shit," Ang sighed under her breath mostly to herself but drew Edd's attention away from M.D. and to the computer screen.

"What is it," he asked as he picked the boy up off the floor and sat him in his lap as he took his seat beside her again.

She clicks the link to the webpage, bringing up a decent sixed picture of the front of a building and an article explaining their vision, "If I had known about this place I would have used them for my wedding."

The photo of the shop didn't elicit much in the way of excitement from Edd, as it looked just like any other home that has been turned into a store in the area, "What's so special about them?"

"Look there," she points to the reviews she had only gotten a preview of on the main search page. A Mr. T. Smith had written, so friendly and inviting, my husband and I were treated like family. Don't go anywhere else if your LGBTQ. A Mrs. S. Harden wrote, my wife was so impressed with them that we recommended them to all our friends, they seemed to anticipate every one of our needs, #family #lovewins.

"Alright, I'll admit they seem to be very gay friendly," Edd conceded her point as he leaned back and started to gently bounce M.D. on his knee as the boy started to become fussy with the lack of attention.

"Family owned and operated," Ang pointed out in the description, the word family had been placed in quotations. "And it's in Lemon Brook, so it's not that far away," she added as she closes the window and stands.

"What are you doing?" Edd asks apprehensively as she slings her purse over her right shoulder and then bends down for the diaper bag.

"We're going to go check this place out," she reaches down and takes M.D. from his arms, "So get your butt in gear and let's get going."

"I should probably wait for Kevin before making a decision like this," Edd replied with the unease still in his voice, unsure if it was a good idea to commit to anything without Kevin being there to give his approval.

She purses her lips and blows out through them blowing out a raspberry as she tried to stifle a laugh and M.D. tries to mimic her, giggling at the sensation in his lips his attempt caused. "Sweetie, it's not like we'll be buying anything, we're just going to look around and see if we like them," she starts to head towards the door, "And believe me, Kevin will be thanking us for getting the best."

Edd lets out a sigh and gives in as he stands and follows her towards the door pulling out his phone as he walks, quickly typing away at his screen "I'm sure a little window shopping couldn't hurt, but I'm still going to have my mother meet us there." Reaching the car, they buckle M.D. up in his car seat and made the short twenty-minute trip from her apartment to the neighboring town of Lemon Brook, to park along the curb in front of the shop. "It's quant," Edd softly said mostly to himself as he stared out of the passenger side window at the store front.

The building was a simple two-story home with painted white wood siding that had been converted into a shop. The front over hang porched had been enclosed with glass so that the shop keepers could display a few of their wears to the public. Most notable of the displays were the two manikins on opposite ends of the porch wearing a beautiful wedding dress and a handsome tuxedo. Along the roof of the porch were four flag poles that proudly displayed the bisexual, gay, transgender and pansexual pride flags. Above the door hung an oval sign that declared the name of the business, Aphrodite's Blessing, with two women silhouetted in the background dancing together in wedding dresses.

As Edd's attention was focused on the front of the shop, Leslie's Nissan Maxima pulls up behind Ang's car, drawing her attention to the rear-view mirror when she sees the movement out of the corner of her eye. Tapping him on the arm she points with her thumb behind them and steps out of the vehicle to get her son as Edd looks out of the rear window then follows her, giving his mother a hug as she comes up to join them. Stepping through the front door of the shop, the small metal bell hanging from the top of the door rings softly alerting the shop owners of potential customers. "Oh my god," Leslie breathed out, "This dress is beautiful," steeping over to the display she touches the fabric, admired its soft feel and elegant design.

"Mom, we're not here to look at dresses," Edd stated in mild aggravation, turning his attention towards her, crossing his arms in disapproval.

"What? You can't blame a girl for still having wedding day dreams," she replied as she snuck a peak at the price tag and slightly winces at the number written on it.

"It is a lovely dress isn't it," Edd jumps a little, surprised that there had been someone behind him that he was unaware of, and turns to look in their direction finding them only a few feet away from him, "If you'd like, I could give you a discount on it if you're deciding to renew your vows." She smiles warmly at Leslie then turns her eyes towards Edd then to Angelica, then back to Leslie awaiting a response. She stood taller then Edd, roughly reaching six feet in height with long black hair that lay over her left shoulder to rest upon her chest. Her grey three-piece dress suite was crisp and clean with a black dress shirt under the jacket, a silver diamond studded heart shaped broach adorned her right lapel.

"Oh no, that's quite alright," Leslie returns her smile graciously, realizing that even with a discount there would be no way of justifying spending that kind of money on a dress for herself, regardless of the occasion. She was already thinking that they just might have to mortgage the house in order to afford this little shine dig for the boys. Thank god for student loans and scholarships, for without them there would be no way to afford this year of big spending.

The shop keeper extends her hand towards Edd, "Where are my manners, my name is Monique, and I will be happy to assist you in whatever capacity that I can." She shakes each one of their hands as they each introduce themselves with quick but polite pleasantries, "So how can we help you today?"

"My son is looking for some help to plan his wedding," Leslie replied as Edd seemed to be at a lose for words.

"And such a beautiful family you will make," Monique stated, stepping over to Ang to playfully greet M.D.

Edd sputtered out, "Oh no we're not," motioning frantically between them.

"We're just friends," Ang confirmed as M.D. stared at Monique making muffled noises at her as he chewed on his pacifier.

"My apologies," she admitted her mistake, her expression mirroring her words as she turns her head to look towards Edd. Brushing off her slip up she continues with the sells pitch, "If you all would like to have a seat we can discuss the details of your wedding at your leisure, and hopefully you will allow us to make your dreams come true," She motions towards a corner where a love seat and a pair of easy chairs sat around a small wooden coffee table and begins to lead them in its direction, "Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea?"

All three spoke in unison as they choose coffee, lightly laughing at the awkwardness before Monique excused herself to head to the back of the shop and to the employee area, "I thought we were just window shopping," Edd whispered once she was out of the room.

Ang replies in a whisper as well, "Just tell her what you're looking for, then let her give you her sells pitch."

"You still have the option of going somewhere else, you don't have to commit to anything right now," Leslie added to reassure him.

As Leslie finishes talking, Monique returns carrying a small wooden tray that held the coffee pot and three mugs, with two individuals walking beside her, one of whom Edd recognized from school. Setting the tray down on the table she introduces her companions, "This is my business partner AJ," she motions to the African American woman beside her who was wearing an apron over her clothes, her hair under a net to keep it in place and out of food. "She will be making your cake if you do decide to employ us," AJ reaches out and shakes each of their hands as the young man who accompanied them sets a tray of cookies down on the table next to the coffee set as Monique took her seat across form them. "And this young man here is her son Tyus, who has dreams of the culinary arts and will be assisting her, so you will be talking to them directly about the cake and all your catering needs."

Tyus smiles in Edd's direction and holds out his fist to him, "What's up Edd, finally planning yours and Kevin's wedding?"

Edd bumps his fist and nods in a meek manner, then addresses both him and AJ, "We're not going to need any catering though, uncle JoJo already said he would do it for us," then turns his attention to Ang and his mother, "As a wedding present."

"So just a cake then?" AJ confirms and Edd nods again.

"That's alright darling," Monique pours a cup of coffee and hands it over to Edd, "There are still many more details we can assist you with, so tell me what you're looking for and we can start planning your big day." She pulls out her phone and begins recording their conversation for later reference, "Are we looking at a traditional wedding or are you going for something more unique, and themed?"

Edd cleared his throat and for the next forty-five minutes explained in great detail what he wanted their big day to look like, answering her questions as thoroughly as possible and looking through a few catalogs that displayed what they could do for them. While Edd was perusing various pictures of flower arrangements, Kevin was sitting in his car outside of the Prince of Peace Cathedral, wondering if he should go in and talk to Father Lewis. For Kevin's idea of a perfect wedding would have the two of them saying their wedding vows up at the very altar they took communion at every week. But with the Holy See's stance on LGBTQ issues, he wasn't sure if it would be possible, even though the Catholic Church has softened its views on people it thinks has an "objective disorder", their words not his.

Taking a deep breath, he lets it out slowly as he starts the car and drives off, feeling the crushing weight of exclusion from the sacrament that would be bestowed upon their marriage by the church. He would pray that the church would eventually see the injustice of their actions and hopefully change, but until then he would have to accept the fact that such change would not happen in time for his wedding. He arrived home just in time to meet Edd at the door as he was entering the building, "Hey babe," giving him a gentle kiss to greet him, "How was your visit with Ang?"

"I think we've found our wedding planners," Edd takes his hand and leads him up the stairs to their door.

"That's nice, when do I get to meet them?"

"Tomorrow," Edd unlocks and opens their door, "And Ang is coming by too, she's got this over powering urge to help us out with this."

"That's cool, I'll just play with Michael while you all work," closing the door behind them with a gentle kick of his foot, he wraps his arms around Edd and kisses the nape of his neck.

"Nope, you're going to help mister, or did you forget it's your wedding too," Edd caressed the forearms loosely wrapped around his waist.

"Yes sir," Kevin replied in a mock scolded tone then turned his attention back to more important matters, like showing Edd how much he loved him. For until the church changes its ways, he would make his own sacrament, by sharing the love in his heart with the man in his arms. A love that he knows god has granted him, a pure emotion that fills his heart and made the choice easier to give that heart over to Edd unconditionally.

 **A/N – Catholics believe in seven sacraments, a means by which god enacts his grace. They are baptism, reconciliation (Confession), the eucharist (Communion), confirmation (first communion), marriage, holy orders and anointing of the sick.**


	92. Something New

Chapter 92 - 12th Grade – Something New

 **A/N- The other half of this chapter is in Love Looks Not with the Eyes Chapter 21**

Kevin and Edd sat at their kitchen table that Thursday evening with a glass of iced tea for each placed in front of them. Upon the table before them sat a rather thick binder opened to about the middle section of the book, displaying assorted designs of place settings that they needed to choose from for their upcoming reception. Sitting on the other side of the table from them, also with a glass of tea in front of each of them, was Monique and Angelica who was holding little M.D. on her knee. Both ladies talking excitedly over a particular design with Edd as Kevin leans back to stretch, rolling his neck to pop a few of his joints while letting out a heavy sigh of relief. Don't get his posture wrong, he was very happy that Edd was so excited about planning their wedding, hell he was also eagerly awaiting the day they would be married, so much so that the butterflies in his stomach have not settled down in days. But planning such things was never really his thing or his forte and he would happily leave all the details in Edd's capable hands, but his dorky husband had insisted that his input was essential to the decision-making process, and thus he was stuck looking at plate designs. His husband, just the simple thought of those words being associated with Edd in the very near future caused those butterflies to take flight once again with happiness.

"Those weren't to your liking?" Monique asks as she turns the book around to face her and begins to turn the pages, "Well, I've saved the best for last darlings. It occurred to me last night that we might want to incorporate a few nature themes into the reception, to tie in the setting you have chosen for your ceremony." Finding the page she was looking for, she turns the book back around so that Edd and Angelica could both see it, displaying the designs she had been talking about, "What do you think about these?"

"I love the dinning set in this one," Angelica points out in the picture on the left.

"Yes, it is quite nice," Edd agreed as he took a closer look, the set in question was a simple white plate with golden flowering vines running along the edge. The cutlery set that accompanied it was gold with floral designs etched into the handles, the gold stemmed crystal wine glasses tapered at the top of the stem into a beautiful orchid that cradled the bowl. "Oh, but I think this center piece would look better," he points to the picture on the other page and asks, "What do you think honey?"

Kevin leans forward from his relaxed position in his chair and smirks at the pet name then tries to form an opinion on the object in question. It was a three-tiered candle holder with white pillar candles incased in cylindrical glass etched with white frosted vines, the tiered holder itself was surrounded by green leafy vines with diverse types of spring flowers adorning the arrangement. "Yeah, it's nice," Kevin replied, trying to sound as interested as he could in a floral arrangement, but knew in the back of his mind that he was failing epically at the task. Leaning over he kisses his husband's cheek and whispers, "If you want it, get it, I'm sure it will look beautiful," the phone beside Edd's hand begins to ring drawing his attention away from Edd and to it. Looking over with a side glance he sees on the screen a photo of Edd's father the night of the fundraiser, laughing next to Nat who had his arm around his shoulder. "But it still won't look at beautiful as you," giving him a quick kiss to the lips he snatches up the phone and smirks, "I'll see what your dad wants, you just keep planning our special day, okay," another quick kiss and he stands to head into the next room. Answering the phone, he brings it up to his ear, "Hey pops, what's up?"

"Oh, hello Kevin, by any chance is Junior there?"

Kevin switches the phone from one ear to the next as he sits down in the recliner, "Yeah, but he's with the wedding planner right now. So how can I help ya?"

"Well, I was wondering if it would be ok to go ahead and have your bachelor party this Saturday?" his soon to be father in law was making no attempt to hide his eagerness for a positive answer in the tone of his voice.

"We're both free, so it should be cool," Kevin replied, "Any reason it needs to be this Saturday?"

Ten minutes after Kevin had left the room and Edd is looking over his shoulder to where he was sitting in the living room, still on the phone with his father, as Monique starts reading back the choices he has made for their reception. "So, you want the place settings from Natures bounty, the center piece from Natures Grace but instead of the candles from that set you want the ones from A Midsummers Night Dream, then you want the table clothe and place cards from Shakespeare in the park and the napkins from Love Eternal. Does that sound about right?"

"Dee," Angelica called out to him, bringing him back into the conversation.

Snapping his head back around to face the ladies, he stammers for a second as his mind starts to comprehend what has been said to him, before answering, "Yes, that sounds about right."

"Alright, I'll head to the office and get those orders in for you right away," Monique closes the book and stands, putting her purse over her shoulder as she does so, "So, all that's left to do is to decide on the seating arrangement and to send out all the invitations, which should be here by Wednesday." Picking up all her belongings, she holds them in her arms, the book resting upon her hip, "I'll call you when they arrive, but feel free to call me anytime, day or night, if you should think of anything else you might need."

"I'll keep that in mind," he replies as he stands to walk her to the door, "But I think everything is covered, thank you Monique, you've been a great help."

"Don't mention it darling, it's what I love to do," she leans in and kisses the air beside both of his cheeks, never making any contact with his skin, "I'll see you Wednesday, until then darlings," doing the same thing with Angelica before waving goodbye to Kevin and turning to head down the stairs.

Closing the door behind her, he turns and looks at his husband, who was now finishing up with his conversation and hanging up the phone, looking down at it as he lays his hand in his lap, "So what was dad wanting?"

"Oh," Kevin snaps his eyes up to meet Edd's, "He wants to have the bachelor party this Saturday."

"I'm in," Angelica said raising her hand, her voice was full of a lot more enthusiasm then what was needed, startling M.D. a little, "And I'm sure Ed won't mind calling in either," she whispers as she sooths her son.

"It is short notice, but I'm sure it'll be fine," Edd replied ignoring Ang's outburst as his mind was occupied with who they would invite and who might be able to make it with such little notice, "So where are they having it?"

"The Dock," Kevin replies as Ang passes M.D. to Edd so she could get their things ready to leave.

Edd's mind races as his brow furrow together in thought, Alice and Kev would more than likely have to sponsor Eddy and Justin in, so Ed and Ang would have to find their own sponsors if Nat and Rave couldn't do it that night. Which left his biological father and Kevin's cousin to sponsor them in, unless, "We'll have to see if mother and father are ok with going."

"I'm sure they will be fine with it," Kevin replied almost absentmindedly as though his thoughts were elsewhere. "Hey babe," he looks down at the phone in his hand again as Edd hums his acknowledgement, "How do you feel about going to New York for our honeymoon?" Edd gives him a quizzical look as the subject of their honeymoon had already been decided weeks ago. Since they themselves could not afford to go anywhere extravagant, his parents were already flipping the bill for the wedding and his biological father was currently unemployed. They had assumed that a honeymoon wasn't going to be gifted to them and had decided to go on a little road trip to a nearby state park in Illinois, there they would spend a week together camping under the stars. Noticing the look Edd was giving him, he explains, "Your dad and my Aunts are chipping in together to fly us out that night and are also getting us a hotel."

Edd hands M.D. back to Ang and gives the young mother and child a kiss on the cheek as he says his farewells to them before closing the door behind them and turning back to walk over to Kevin to take his seat in his lap. "I'll be sure to thank your Aunt's when I see them at the wedding," setting a mental reminder to give his dad a big hung this weekend.

"You can thank them at the party," Kevin added, adjusting in his seat a little as it was plain on his face that he was currently a little uncomfortable, "They're coming down with your dad."

Edd's brows furrow again, "Wait, I'm confused, why are they..."

"Here, just call him back," he hands over Edd's phone, "You two should to talk." Taking the phone from Kevin's hand tentatively, he looks into his husband's eyes with a worried expression upon his face, "It's nothing bad babe, I promise, you should just hear it from him is all."

Standing he unlocks his phone and hits call on the device as he slowly walks into the front bedroom to take a seat upon their bed. Hearing his father answer his phone and greeting him, he speaks, "Hello dad, I'm just returning your call." For the next forty-five minutes, father and son talked about the current situation, making plans and promises for future get togethers and summer time visits, as Kevin made them dinner. All the while the thoughts in the back of Edd's mind had to wonder how many years it would be this time before he sees his dad again. He spent the last hours of the evening trying not to focus on the news his father had given him and concentrated on making these last few weeks of his high school life memorable, starting with this party. The couple spent a good hour and a half before bed, and a fair amount of printer ink, making out personalized invitations for the people they wanted to come. Each invitation of course had the address to the bar as well as all the information their guests would need pertaining to the sponsorship of minors into the establishment.

Friday went by quickly as they searched the halls of Peach Creek High for each individual on their list to personally hand them their invitation and hopefully get a favorable RSVP from them. They did unfortunately receive a few declines due to a lack of sponsorship, as well as a few people who said they would try and make it if they could find a sponsor willing to go with them in time. But all in all, the vast majority of the people they had invited said yes without missing a beat, which included the new friends they had found in Stan and Wendy.

Edd spent Saturday afternoon into the evening texting back and forth with Wendy as they hammered down details on where everyone should meet up, as well as just idle conversation between the two. Confirming with him that all the information had been passed on to all those who needed to know in her close-knit group of friends, as Rave interrupted their texts with his apologies that he couldn't make it till after ten that night.

Leaving the sleepy little town with enough time to stop along the way to have dinner with the parents, the boys made it to the bar with enough time to wait on the rest of their group to arrive. "Oh, god this brings back memories," Leslie reminisced as she stared up at the pink neon lights that ran along the upper most part of the wall of the building.

Edd cocks a brow and looks at her in disbelief, "When have you ever been here, mother?"

"It was back before I got married the first time, Nat and Alice use to drag your father out to the club all the time and I would come along when I was in town." Looking from one boy to the other she felt their curious stares lock in on her and she suddenly felt like an ant under a magnifying glass. She thanked god in heaven when she spotted her savior who would keep her from having to answer anymore questions as Alice rounds the corner. "Look out boys, here comes trouble," she calls out to the woman as she quickly made her way toward her with arms outstretched.

"Hey there Mama," She gives Leslie and warm hug before pulling back to look her over, "You're looking fine girl, I'm all kinds of jealous."

Leslie waves it off, a blush dusting her cheeks at the complement, "Oh, stop, you can't mean this old thing," she looks down at the dress she bought two years ago.

"Really girl, you do."

"Where's Eddy and Justin?" Edd asks as his friends had not accompanied Alice and Kev around the corner.

Alice turns to look over her shoulder, "Now where did that girl go?" Turning back around to look back at the inquisitor she gave her opinion, "She's probably still talking to your friends." Waving over her shoulder flippantly in the general direction she had come from, "They were all huddled together on the other side of the bar, I swear they looked like a pack of tourists." Taking the last few steps to the door, she opens it wide and waves them inside, "You all just go on inside and find us a seat close to the stage and I'll go round up the herd."

Doing as they were instructed, the four of them made their way to the show bar after handing over their ID's to Roxie at the front desk and paying their cover charge. Entering the spacious room, they didn't have to look very hard for a place to sit as they had found that Kevin's Aunt's and Edd's dad had already reserved them all a place by putting a few tables together up front. As the group took their seats they each said their warm hellos to their visiting relatives and strengthened the bonds of their soon to be joined families. "Congratulations on the job Edd," Leslie said as she looked down the table at her ex-husband then motioned to her son, "D told me that you got hired on with a firm in New York."

"Yeah, it was a lucky break," the man replied softly as he looked as if he was still unsure of this choice, for it was a thirteen-hour drive away from all that he has known. His ailing father and elderly mother, the son that he has just started to make a connection with and the man who he was forming a union with. His childhood friends and their families that treat him as one of their own, a lost lover who he has given away to another who means the world to him as friend and confidant. With honorable consideration to all those who have helped him throughout the years, Alice, Kev, Derek and Tim. And then there was him, the handsome red head who has once again found his way back into his life, after so many years, and has slowly started to awaken a fire in his heart that he has long thought extinguished.

"Well, we'll be sad to see you go, but we understand why," she turns to her son who she knew was still a little sad that his father had to move after all the progress that they have made, "Don't we D?"

"Absolutely, besides, we can always come and visit during the holidays or on summer break," Edd replied hopefully, but his mother knew those hopes would be hard met with the realities of life but did not bring her fears to voice.

"Yeah, definitely," his dad assured him as Alice came up to the table and gives him a hug. Leaning in she whispers, effectively cutting off what she was saying to his father as the background noise of the crowd that was filling the room conceals her words. "I'm fine," he replies and smiles up to her earning him a disapproving look, "No really, I'm ok."

"Why's your dad so sad?" Angelica pulls his attention away from the conversation with her question as she leans over his shoulder to speak in his ear, warping her arms around his shoulders. Turning to look in her direction he sees that Ed was standing beside her, greeting Kevin with a fist bump as Edina and Justin took their seats next to Tony and Leslie.

"He's moving to New York for a job, and I think he's starting to regret the decision," he answered her softly.

"That makes sense, he's leaving everything behind for a job, that in a year from now might not pan out, that's scary at any age." She frowns as she considers this for a moment, "But you know what I say," Edd hums quizzically at her words, "All you can do now is stand beside him, I mean we can't help where life leads us after all."

"You're right," Edd begins and she cuts in.

"I know I'm right," she kisses him on the cheek then straightens up as the music for the show begins, "You should listen to me more often, your life would be a lot easier you know." Giving him a warm smile, she turns and heads towards her seat between Kevin and Ed as Anita Fellatio takes the stage and begins her first number in a frilly night gown, Hello, I Love You by Adore Delano.

As the song comes to an end after a rather entertaining performance, she steps to the edge of the stage and grabs the microphone handed to her. "Hey all you queer's, we've got a little something special happening here tonight," she looks around the room and quickly spots their table and tilts her had to the side and smiles at them. "Two of my very dear, and very old, friends have decided to invite us all to their bachelor party," she begins to walk down the steps of the stage to the main floor and towards them, "Apparently, one of them has a son, who is getting married soon to a handsome young red head." She steps around the table and ruffles the beanie on top of Edd's head causing the young man to bow his head in embarrassment, "Stand up you two and show all these hopelessly single queens just how cute you are."

Edd was reluctant to do as he was asked, but with Kevin taking the lead and his reassuring hand in his own he stands and turns to face the crowd. Suddenly he felt as small as a church mouse who was staring straight into the eyes of the cat meant to keep the place rodent free as all eyes were now on them. "Aw, they're so cute and sweet it almost gives me a tooth ache." She looks over at an older gentleman who sat at a nearby table looking at the couple with a happy smile on his face and barks, "Hands off Steven, they're not a two for one special on the corner of oak and come fuck me." Edd turns his head away from the scene and hides his face in Kevin's shoulder, his empathetic nature causing him to feel embarrassed for the man as he was accosted by her harsh words. Understanding Edd's sensitivity towards others, Kevin sooths his love by rubbing the back of his neck and playing off the situation with a light laugh. Turning back to the crowd she continues as she reaches into her purse which rested on the crook of her arm, "Anyway, in the spirit of the event, I've prepared a little something special for the two of you," pulling out a can of whip cream she displayed it to the audience.

Bringing his head out of Kevin's shoulder he turns to look in her direction and could physically feel all the blood drain from his face as the innumerable possibilities of what this can of whip cream could mean for them ran through his mind. Seeing Edd's reaction, Alice quickly stands and leans in to whisper into Anita's ear, "Darling, maybe you should skip doing anything unsavory to them," Anita hums to acknowledge she was listening. "You just might make one of them pass out if you're planning on doing what I think you're planning, and that wouldn't be much fun now would it," she hums negatively to agree with her. "He's shy and a little delicate by nature, so why don't you make it audience participation instead."

Anita steps away and turns towards Alice, "Ok, gotcha," then back toward the crowd, "Well damn, now what am I going to do with this?" She shakes the can in her hand for emphasis, then smiles broadly as she took Alice's idea as her own, "So which one of you fags want to lick this shit off a stripper's nipple?" As she finished her sentence two very handsome, scantily clad, well-defined and endowed strippers step onto the stage carrying chairs that they placed in the middle as Anita walks back up to join them. Popping the cap off the can, she sprays just a little bit upon the blonde's nipple to her right and seductively licks it off herself, "Hmm, yummy."

Now that the attention was off them, they both take their seats once again as Edd exclaims, "Shit, that was intense," letting out the anxiety of being the center of attention to a room full of strangers.

"I don't know babe, I thought it was kind of fun," Kevin says with a big smile on his face as he puts his arm around Edd's shoulder and messages the opposite one.

"You would," Edd huffs as he lays his head on Kevin's shoulder. Looking down the table Kevin sees that his cousin had joined them while Anita was displaying them for the crowd.

Catching the older man's eye briefly he waves his hello to him but found that the gesture would not be returned as the man's attention had quickly gone back to Edd's dad. Leaving it alone as he knew it was dad's responsibility to tell the man about his current situation, he turns his own attention back to his love. Cracking jokes about the shenanigans that were happening on the stage as two contestants played beer pong for a chance to lick whip cream off a stripper's naughty bits. But in the back of his mind he couldn't help but feel sorry for the two of them as this chance for happiness seemed to be slipping through their fingers.

The rest of the night after the show was spent dancing with their friends, celebrating their upcoming union with those they loved and cherished. Neither Edd nor Kevin saw his dad again that evening, nor did they see his cousin for that matter, and thus missed out on their chance to thank him in person for the gift of their honeymoon before he left to head back to New York with Tina and Patty the following morning.


	93. Something Borrowed

Chapter 93 – Graduated – Something Borrowed

 **A/N- Ok, I'm going to admit that I had to look up wedding speeches, I'm simply no good at them lol. So, the Pastor's speech comes from a site that lists universal speeches that are common at some weddings, sorry, but it did fit them nicely. Also, I could not find the original authors name for the speech to give them credit, for the site did not list them, it just contained the twenty something speeches I had to read through. The vows on the other hand are of my creation.**

Over the course of the last few weeks of their high school lives, the boys were busy, running around like a pair of chickens with their heads cut off trying to accomplish all that they could before their wedding the week after graduation. From taking their final exams, which they both passed due to Edd forcing Kevin to buckle down and studied for, since the red head was under the mindset that he had learned all that he needed to know for the test during the school year. To wedding rehearsals and ironing out the seating arrangements for their reception, for it wasn't long after the bachelor party that they had found out what had transpired between Edd's dad and Kevin's cousin. Alice and Tina both confirming since it wouldn't have been tactful to go to the source, and now the couple wasn't quite sure how to split up the group of friends equally to avoid any fall out. Not that either party involved had voiced any animosity towards the other, the couple just wanted to keep any friction that comes with love spurned to a minimum. While also trying not to look like they were attempting to keep them separated in the process.

Which meant surrounding them with their own friends, people like Edd's parents or Tim and Derek who were invited because they were friends of his dad, were easy to place. But couples like Nat and Rave were exceedingly difficult due to the fact that Nat was friends with Edd's dad, while Rave was friends with Kevin's cousin, making them a potential landmine if seated with either. Then there was Alice, Kev, Tina and Patty who were all friends or relatives of the aforementioned individuals, making it nearly impossible to find a place for them without excluding someone. This little endeavor was nearly driving Edd crazy as his desire to try and be fair to everyone kept pushing him into a corner. Until the frustration had become too much for him, "Ah, I've had it," he exclaims as he pushes away from the computer desk.

"Calm down babe," Kevin implored as he turned in his chair to look at his husband in mild shock, "I don't think it's going to come down to a fist fight if that's what your worried about."

Edd flinches with worry at the thought, for he hadn't really considered physical violence as a possibility, "But what if it does, our wedding could mean the end of decades of friendships."

He kisses Edd on top his beanie and assures him, "It will be alright babe, trust me." He wheels himself in front of the computer and starts removing names from their current places, "Neither of them are mad, ok, just hurt, they are both probably thinking that they have the worst luck when it comes to love." His mind set at ease Edd nods in agreement, thoroughly embarrassed at his earlier outburst and pulls his chair forward so he was sitting by Kevin once again. "So how about this, we'll put mom, dad and pops over here with Tim and Derek," as he spoke he began dragging and dropping names into their positions. "And my cousin and aunts over here, while we put Alice and her family along with Nat and Rave at the center table between them."

Edd watched in relief as Kevin filled in those tables with relatives, grateful that he had Kevin in his life, someone he could count on and who in turn counted on him to help carry the burdens of life, whether they be big or small, "I love you."

"I love you too babe," he returns his smile then finishes putting the last names in their places, putting Edd's grandparents at their sons table.

Having finally finished their task, Edd pulls out his phone and texts the proprietors of Aphrodite's Blessing to let them know that the seating arrangement had been complete and was uploaded to their profile. He received a response a moment later as Kevin was shutting down the computer, "Thank you darling, I'll have a look at it in the morning."

Stretching in his chair as Edd put his phone away, Kevin let the stress melt away, "Hmm, you feel like eating out tonight babe?" Edd wearily nods and hums out his response as his exhaustion was evident now that he was a little more relaxed, "Cool." Looking around their living room and the boxes stacked within, he ponders, "Do you think we'll get this all moved by tomorrow?"

Looking around the room as well, Edd replies, "I don't see why not. Everything's packed except for the essentials, and that will take no time at all with everyone's help."

"Yeah, you're right," he kisses Edd's temple then stands, "Come on babe, there's a big plate of spaghetti calling my name at Jo Jo's."

The rest of the week between finals and graduation was spent moving their belongings, along with Justin and Eddy's things, into the new apartment they would be sharing in Summerville. The four days they had left before graduation was spent unpacking boxes, moving furniture around, decorating and cleaning, along with the appropriate first night christening of their new home. Leaving the four men thoroughly exhausted when the last big day of their high school lives finally arrived. Coupled with the fact that they had to wake up and hour earlier then usual to make it back to Peach Creek in time only compounded their exhaustion. So that by the time the ceremony began, all the energy they had left was used to go through the motions of walking up on stage, receiving their diplomas from the principal with a smile on their faces, then sitting back down. With cap and gown on, group photos were taken with friends and family in front of the school's entrance once the ceremony was complete. Then it was a quick trip to the local Bob Evans to eat with their families to celebrate the big day, before making the long trip back home to collapse on the couch with their roommates to relax for the rest of the evening.

Saturday June 10th, 2017 at 6:59am Kevin's eyes shoot open as his mind registers that the bed beside him was now empty. Rolling over he turns on the bedside lamp and looks around Edd's childhood bedroom for his husband. The only things his eyes feel upon was the new furniture their parents had bought to fill the space after they had moved out almost a year ago, but no Edd. Hanging by a hook on the back of the bedroom door, gently swayed two tuxedos covered in their protective plastic bags. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Kevin puts on a t-shirt to cover his bare torso then stands to slide his feet into the slippers at the foot of the bed before leaving the room to head down stairs. Entering the kitchen, he finds Edd busy filling the coffeemaker with water from the carafe, turning his eyes away from his task to greet him as he walks into the room. Coming up behind him, he wraps his arms around his waist, resting his chin upon his shoulder, "Did you sleep well?"

"I did," he replied as he pushed start on the coffeemaker then leans his cheek against Kevin's temple, intertwining their fingers together.

"You nervous?"

"I'm excited," he turns his head and kisses Kevin's temple, "And how about you? Are you nervous?"

"Nah babe, how would you have said it back in the day," Kevin smirks playfully as he turns Edd to face him. "I am eagerly awaiting the hour in which we will be untied in holy matrimony," slowly breaking out into mild laughter as Edd's expression turned into one of feigned shock as he joined his laughter.

"You've been rehearsing that, haven't you?"

"Eh, maybe," he leans in and kisses him then whispers as he looks into his eyes, "But it was so worth it."

"Morning," Leslie yawns as she enters the room.

"Good morning mom," both boys replied as they looked in her direction.

"If you guys aren't getting any would you mind not blocking the coffee," she shoos them away as Edd looks over his shoulder at the appliance she was wanting to reach.

Kevin steps away, which allowed Edd to move as well, and asks, "I was about to make some breakfast, do you want some?"

She takes a cup down from the hook that it was hanging from, "That would be nice, thanks." Pouring her coffee, she sits down at the table to add some sugar to it as Kevin starts to get the things he needed from the refrigerator as Edd helped him by getting the pans out of the cabinet. Tony joins them a moment later, getting himself some much needed caffeine he joins his wife at the table to watch his sons make them breakfast and enjoy some light conversation.

It wasn't long after breakfast that the rest of the family joined them at their home, each one of them already dressed for the occasion, his great aunts and grandmother passing the time by recalling stories of their own marriages. "Our reception was held at his grandparent's farm," Edd's grandmother recalled fondly as she squeezed her husband's hand.

"Nothing like home cooked food and family to kick things off right," Edd's grandfather added.

"Or pig sties," she retorted.

"Oh god, your poor dress was ruined," great aunt Edith remarks as she recalls Carol slipping and somehow knocking open the gate to the sty and landing in the mud.

"My poor back more like it," Carol's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, "I thought I was going to die when those pigs started squealing."

The story was interrupted by two more members of their extended family walking into the house and into the room. Spotting Kevin right away Ed beckons him with a motion of his hand, "Come on dude it's time to go."

Eddy was rushing up the steps to go retreive the tux and the bag Kevin had prepared as he called out, "Yeah, we can't let your groom see his bride before the wedding."

"I'm going to kick your as…" a quick pause as he changes his word for the families benefit, "Butt Eddy." Eddy pauses upon the landing, well out of sight of the rest of the family, and flips him off as he sticks his tongue out, giving him a playful smile before proceeding to complete his task.

Turning his attention away from Eddy's shenanigans he turns to Edd and kisses him softly, "I'll see you in a little bit babe."

"I look forward to it Mr. Vincent," Edd smiled as the last name Kevin was taking felt so right to say when addressing his husband.

Kevin returned his infectious smile, "Likewise Mr. Vincent," and kisses him again.

"Alright you two, break it up," Ed teased as he heard Eddy make his way back down the stairs, "Their will be enough time for that later."

Reluctantly Kevin left Edd's side and followed Ed out the door as Eddy called out, "See ya D."

Both knew that this separation would only be temporary, but there was a bit of nervous excitement that filled the air upon its occurrence. The first step in the chain of events that would lead to their union, "You should probably start getting ready too," Tony breaks his chain of thoughts with his suggestion.

He turns away from the doorway that Kevin had just left through and looks at his father, then to his dad and finally over to his mother, "Right." Standing, he makes his way up the stairs on autopilot to get ready, taking a thorough shower, shaving then brushing his teeth again before brushing his hair and keeping it in place with some styling gel.

Once he was dressed he heads back down the stairs to rejoin the rest of his family, when his grandmother, aunts and mother swarm him as he enters the room. His grandmother pulls the chain of a neckless over her head as she speaks, "This is a locket of St. Jude, my mother gave it to me on my wedding day and now I would like you to have it." She didn't wait for him to answer as she puts the chain over his head, taking the locket into his hand, he looks at the etched likeness of the saint upon the old locket before tucking it into his shirt and thanking her.

It was his mother's turn now, speaking as she presents the contents of a small box, "A new watch to go with your suite." Pulling the pocket watch out of its suede box, she hands it over for him to put away. It had an intricate golden vine design upon its face, and inside the cover was inscribed their names along with today's date.

"Edd," his aunt Edith addressed him, "Would you do me the honor of taking my rosary with you down the aisle?"

Edd smiles as he takes the item, "Absolutely," and places it in his inside coat pocket.

"And lastly, something blue," his aunt Sue steps up and pulls out a new blue handkerchief from her purse and hands it to him.

"Don't forget this," his grandfather says as he flicks him a coin, catching it, Edd looks at the penny curiously, "A six pence in your shoe, that's the last line in the rhyme, isn't it."

"Oh, that's going to be uncomfortable," Edd says to himself but slides the coin in his footwear anyways.

"We should get going," his dad states as he stands, "The wedding is due to start within the hour," Tony agrees with him as he also stands and helps Jeffery up off the couch. Clasping his son on the shoulders he pulls him in for a hug, "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks dad," he returns the hug warmly, but it was hard to explain his emotional state right now, for he wasn't sad, but here he was about to start crying, actually they both were.

"Come on," Leslie said gently as she put her hand on Edd Sr.'s shoulder, "We'll be late." Releasing his son, he dried the tears that had yet to fall and leads the way to the cars, helping his parents in.

The location they had decided to have the wedding at was in the neighboring state park that the creek the town was named after ran through, cutting a small canyon into the hill side. Which produced four beautiful waterfalls in different areas of the park that could be viewed from the nature trails that led down into the canyon and along the creeks shore. The area they had chosen to hold their wedding was a look out point along the canyons edge that had a stunning view of Big Peach Falls in the distance and a breath taking back drop of the tree covered hillsides that made up the canyon's walls. The gazebo that they were to say their vows under had been decorated with an assortment of traditional wedding flowers that formed a vine along the structures supports and along the railing of the walkway that led to it. The seating for their guests had been placed on either side of that walkway and strategically placed in a semicircle to ensure that each person had a good view of the ceremony.

When the guests were all seated and the appointed hour had arrived the procession began, with Ed and Angelica leading the way followed by Eddy and Justin. Kevin was next in line escorted down the aisle by Tony while Double D was escorted by Edd Sr. Standing now in front of Pastor Myrtle Earles they clasp each other's hands as she begins to speak, "Being assured that your love and your choice of each other as lifelong companions is in God's will and that you have your families' blessings, I now ask: Who gives these men to be married to each other?"

Both Tony and Edd Sr. say in unison, "We do," then turn to rejoin the family in their seats.

Once they were seated she begins her opening address to those in attendance, "Today there will be no dearly beloved, no betrothed, and no ancient rhyme of the married. Today there are no dead languages to solemnize vows that are very much alive and will remain so for a lifetime. Today promises become permanent and friends become family. However, this day is not about the words spoken or the rings exchanged, nor is it about grand pronouncements and recessional marches. This day," she looks at each of the grooms, "The day of Kevin and Edd's wedding – is about love. All you have to do is simply love one another and that love shows through in everything you do for one another, how you treat each other, in good times and bad."

She turns her attention back to the crowd and continues, "Love isn't just a word; it's an action. Love isn't something you say, it's something you do. Love is genuine, honest, and open, compassionate and kind, passionate and blind, love doesn't know space or time, nor look through jealous eyes, and in the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies." There are many different kinds of love, almost if not all of which are represented here today. There is romantic love, the love of parents and children, of brothers and sisters and family, and love among friends. Not only do Kevin and Edd love one another romantically – and they do, you can see it in every look, every touch, every moment they're together – they also love one another as friends. In fact, they're best friends, constantly giggling and taunting and teasing and very plainly and obviously having fun together. That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage. In addition, the love collectively in this room, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today. All of us here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined in marriage."

She turns her gaze back to the grooms as though she wanted to give them some sound advice, "This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but, most importantly, it will be a journey you take together. Marriage is much more than your signatures on a legal contract. You are promising, in front of all these people you love, that you want to be with each other and only each other for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honor the promises you are making here today. And for their part, the people who love you will also do everything in their power to try to help you hold up your end of the bargain."

Finished with her speech, the pastor begins to say a prayer and Edd could feel Kevin's thumb gliding over the back of his hand affectionately. The love in his heart that he had for Edd flowing through his touch causing the love Edd also had for him to overflow from his heart and be deeply expressed in his eyes as he looked back up into Kevin's once the prayer was complete. Cupping Edd's cheek with his free hand, Kevin begins his vows, "Edd, I have always loved you, even before I knew you, and I will continue to love you even after the end of time. I promise that I will cherish you and honor you, that I will shower you with affection and maybe even let you win an argument every now and then." A few in the crowd softly laugh at this, "This ring," he takes the ring Ed was holding and begins to slide it down Edd's finger, "Represents the everlasting renewal of my love for you, as there is no beginning to it and no end of it."

Edd takes the ring that Eddy was holding and begins his vows, "Kevin, this ring is my promise that the love we share is as eternal and as beautiful as the night sky. It is also my promise to laugh with you, to smile with you, to hold you and to comfort you, to be your strength when you need it and to also count on yours when I faulter. But I also promise that I will cry with you and fight with you and that I will always forgive you for being wrong." A few more laughs at his statement were heard, "For love comes with its hardships and its rewards."

With a smile on her face Pastor Earles looks at each of them and prays, "May all that is noble and lovely abide now and forever with Kevin and Edd. May the love you have declared blossom into that of fulfillment which only love can bring. With hearts full of joy, we make this our prayer for you, amen." And one final pray for those in attendance, "May we leave here full of hope, joy and love and may we remember always the two gathered here with affection, love and supportive thoughts, blessed be. It is now my pleasure to present to you Kevin and Eddward Vincent, you man now kiss." The two joined in a sweet chased kiss as those in attendance stood and cheered for the newlyweds. Reaching beside their chairs as they were instructed to do before the wedding started, the guests pick up their bottles, and blew bubbles at the couple as the recessional march began, filling the air with the small round orbs. Climbing into the car with its tin cans and just married scribed on the back window, the two of them drove off towards their reception.


	94. Something Blue

Chapter 94 – Graduated – Something Blue

 **A/N- Oh my god, it is here, the last chapter in this story, I just might cry. But I have decided that I will do an epilogue once Love Looks Not with the Eyes is complete, but not before. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the fluffy goodness that is the wedding reception. P.S.- The first episode of Pose was fucking FABULOUS!**

Kevin rests his head upon Edd's shoulder as they made their way from their wedding to their reception, interlacing the fingers of his left hand with his husband's free hand. He smiles broadly and chuckles softly as an expression of the love which was overflowing his heart and quickly filling his chest with a warm feeling of elation. "What is it my love," Edd asks as he softly squeezes the hand he was holding while he turns on his turn signal to enter the parking lot of the Peach Falls Inn.

"I'm happy," he replies, bringing the hand he was holding up to his lips he kisses the back of it before continuing, "I just don't know if I'm going to be able to stop smiling today."

"I know what you mean," Kevin raises his head off of Edd's shoulder and looks at his love and the happy smile upon his face and feels his own heart swell with joy once more as Edd pulls over to the front curve of the hotel where AJ was waving to them.

Putting the car into park he shuts off the engine, then leans over and gives his husband a quick kiss before opening the door and exiting the vehicle to find AJ patiently waiting them. Holding out her hand for his keys, she begins to explain, "Your parents have just called and said that they are on their way." She hands the keys over to one of the valet attendants they had hired for the event as they step up on the curve, the man moves quickly to park the vehicle as she continues, "So they will be joining you shortly. From here you will be greet your guests as they arrive and thank them for coming," she directs them where to stand as she eyes them over to ensure their suits and bowties were still neat. "Please keep it short but pleasant, as we need to keep the line moving forward, and I'm sure they will all understand that there will be plenty of time to talk inside." She brushes off some lint from Kevin shoulders, "Monique and I will direct them where to go from there." The three of them all look over to the entrance of the parking lot when they hear the first car approach, AJ drawing the boy's attention back to her as she speaks, "Well, it looks like your guests are starting to arrive. So, I'll see you two inside in a little bit, and congratulations," she steps away and heads towards the hotels entrance as the first car pulls up to the curve and the valet hops into action.

For the next twenty to thirty minutes they greeted their guests with warm handshakes and quick kind words of thanks. The line only pausing for a moment when Edd's Aunt Edith, who was still mildly teary eyed, had to tell them both right then and there how beautiful she thought the ceremony was and how proud she was of the two of them. Finally getting the line moving again after she had hugged them both along with an apologetic explanation that she always cries at weddings.

With the last of their guest properly greeted, the newlyweds made their way into the building where AJ directed them to the side entrance of the banquet hall where Monique stood waiting for them. "We're going to give your guests a few minutes to find their seats, then I'll introduce you, ok." She also takes a moment to give them the once over to make sure that their hair and suites were still looking neat and clean. "It's all smooth sailing from here, so relax, have fun and enjoy your night, and congratulations darlings." Satisfied that they were presentable and didn't require any touching up, she turns away from them and opens the door ever so slightly to peek inside. "Hmm, well it looks like it's time darlings, so let's get the two of you out there," looking over her shoulder briefly to gauge that they had heard her and satisfied that they had, she swings the door open and steps into the room. Picking up the microphone beside the door as she enters, she turns it on and brings it up to her mouth, "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you, the Vincent's."

Taking Edd's hand into his own, Kevin leads the way into the room, the pair waving to the applauding guests as they made their way to their seats at the main table. Eddy and Justin, who were wearing matching tuxes, were seated to their left next to Kevin, while Ed and Angelica were to their right next to Edd. As the couple took their seats, the applauds die down and both best men stand with their glasses in hand. "We would like to propose a toast," Ed raised his glass, "To our friends, we hope that your days are filled with happiness and the love we all know you have for each other."

Eddy took over from here, "And the joys that come with the sounds of little feet running through your house laughing." Everyone thought it was a sweet toast until Eddy continued, "As a lamp breaks in the next room, not to mention the midnight feedings, the boys or girls they will want to date, along with college…"

"I think they get the point Eddy," Ed stops his friend from rambling.

"Well if that's what you want," Eddy raises his glass, "Then we're all for it."

"Good, because you'll be babysitting," Kevin reminded him with a smile.

"To the happy couple," Ed said to end the toast as everyone raises their glasses with them to toast the newlyweds. Setting his glass down upon the table, Ed turns to look his friends in the eyes, "What can we say about these two?" He smiles playfully at them, "If you had told me back in the fifth grade, when I met this charming dork, that he was going marry one of the most popular people in our school, I would have looked at you like you were mad. Because we were all sure, that our dear dork of a friend, was going to become a librarian and marry his books," Edd flushes red in the cheeks as he laughs it off, for he had to admit that the man was right, he was a bit of a bookworm after all. "And as for Kevin, well, let's just say his bike misses him very much."

"Oh my god," Kevin says softly through his laughs.

"No truer words have been spoke to this day, but then we discovered what their favorite song was," the devilish grin upon Eddy's face sent a chill down Edd's spin. "It's a little ditty by Nancy Sinatra that I'm sure all of you are familiar with," Edd's face went pale as the words spilled forth from Eddy's lips, "Bang, bang." Edd laughs it off as he rests his forehead on Kevin's shoulder while Eddy continued, "And in a way it was the theme song for the beginning of their relationship, wouldn't you say D?"

Regaining his composure quickly, he replied as he looks up at his friend, "I will have to trust in your musical expertise and interpretation."

"But like all young love," Ed took the reigns again, "The songs in their playlist quickly changed."

"Going from songs like Bad Romance to Express Yourself, to only name a few," Eddy added, "But I am glad to say that they finally got it right in the end, and I am happy that they did, because now the music that they make together is a beautiful love song." Raising his glass, he toasts them once more, "I love you guys, and I wish you many happy years together." Both Kevin and Edd stand and hug their friends as the mild roast was now over and all was taken in the humor it was intended. As they took their seats again, the waiters and waitresses from Bella Roma begin serving the dinner that Uncle Jo Jo had personally prepared for them. Which consisted of caprese crostini, chicken marsala and cacciatore vegetables with a side spinach salad.

After dinner came the cutting of the cake, where Kevin and Edd both held the knife together and cut the first piece. After placing it upon a plate, Edd picks it up gingerly to give the first bite to Kevin, when a subtle wicked smile dances across his lips. And as Kevin leans in to receive his treat from his love, he lightly bops him on the nose with the tip of the cake, depositing a fair amount of frosting upon the end of his nose. Kevin couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips at his husband's playfulness as the flash of cellphone cameras lit up the room, and he quickly decided that two could play this game. For as he leans in to kiss his love he purposefully rubs the tip of his nose against Edd's, effectively transferring most of the frosting to him as he joins their lips while more pictures were taken. Breaking that sweet kiss as Edd begins to laugh, he whispers softly, "I love you," then joins their lips again for another quick kiss, before cleaning the sugary substance from Edd's nose and then his own.

Taking their seats again, the newlyweds conversed with their friends as they lazily fed each other small bites from their piece of cake. After desert was finished AJ comes over the speakers to announce the newlyweds first dance together as a married couple. The two of them took the floor and all eyes were on them once again as Edd allowed Kevin to lead as Never Let Me Go by Caecilie Norby begins to play. "Can you believe we're really here," Edd asks softly, "I mean, it somehow feels like a dream."

"If it is, then I hope I never wake up," Kevin replies as he looks deeply into Edd's blue eyes.

"Kevin, I don't know how to say this, or even if it will make sense," Edd's eyes burned with a need to express himself.

"I'm sure it will babe," he reassured him.

"I have loved you with all my heart, but right now my heart doesn't feel like it's big enough to contain all the love I have for you," Edd tried to explain.

And Kevin understood what he was saying as he adds, "It's like a container that's already full, but someone keeps pouring more in, and the only place it has to go is over the edge, spilling itself into you." Edd nods, agreeing with the analogy, "I feel the same way babe."

They held each other and swayed to the music, gazing into one another's eyes for the remainder of the song, basking in the love they held for each other. Neither one of them noticing that their song had ended and that the floor was now full of other couples dancing to As Time Goes By, until Edd hears Richard and his father collide into each other. The two of them turning their gazes towards the star-crossed lovers out of curiosity and witness the awkward exchange of apologies before Richard finally offered to dance with his love. "Hopefully the love we have is contagious," Kevin remarked, "And those two will finally realize that they were meant for each other."

"We can only hope," Edd replied sympathetically, "I just only wish there was something we could do."

"Yeah," Kevin agreed as they turned slowly in time with the music and catches a glimpse of the two of them once again.

"But that would be poking our noses in where they don't belong, I mean we can't force them to be together."

"But it never hurts to give them a push in the right direction," Kevin said more to himself as he pondered what they could do for them. But what if Edd was right and they didn't want their help, after all they are grown ass men and fully capable of making their own choices, regardless of whether anyone else agreed with them or not, and the subject was dropped. After a few more songs the couple mingled amongst their guest, engaging in small talk until it was time for them to throw their flowers and be on their way. Which came quicker then the two of them had realized as their attention was drawn away from the conversation they were having with their grandfather when AJ came over the speakers once more to announce the event. Coming back up to the front table, the two of them were each given a single white rose as the younger members of their guest gathered on the dance floor awaiting the chance to catch one.

Turning their backs to the crowd the two of them counted to three then tossed their roses over their shoulders into the awaiting throng, then quickly turned around to witness the ensuing carnage. As Eddy and Wendy were practically in a wrestling match for one of the cherished buds while Rose triumphantly displayed the flower she had caught. To everyone's relief the little spat between Eddy and Wendy only lasted a few moments, as Eddy was able to secure the rose and climb to his feet, offering his opponent a helping hand up off the floor.

With that little spectacle out of the way, the time of their departure had arrived, and they were escorted by Tyus to a room that had been rented out to store their luggage in as well as a private place for them to change out of their tuxes and into their suites. With their luggage wheeling behind them, they made one final appearance in the banquet hall to say their goodbyes to their family and friends. After their tearful farewells they headed back to their apartment in Summerville to drop off their car and from there they would take an Uber to the airport. They arrived at the airports check-in counter with an hour to spare before their plane was due to depart, just incase the airports security should decide to be extra thorough today. With their luggage checked-in Edd begins to walk away but notices that Kevin had not followed him, "Is everything alright Kevin?"

"Yeah I'll be right there," he replied and Edd watched as Kevin took a few extra minutes to talk to the lady at the counter before joining his husband to make their way through the security checks, and to their terminal to catch their flight. The flight itself was short, but the impressive view of landing in New York at night was breathtaking as the two of them tried to look out of the window at the same time. The hotel that Edd's father and Kevin's aunts had booked for them was opulent to say the least, even if their rooms were the standard accommodations and not the honeymoon suite. The view from their windows was a fantastic sight of central park, adding to the romance that was already in the air as they laid down for their wedding night.

In the morning Kevin woke bright and early to check their luggage and to get ready for their day by planning a few romantic things the two of them could do together with the help of Google as Edd slept in. Finding a neatly tucked away envelop in their bags containing a letter from Rave congratulating them on their marriage along with a set of tickets for a Broadway musical the following evening. With only one thing left to do before he woke Edd up, Kevin gathered his clothes together and headed into the bathroom as he hit call on a contact in his phone. Having to call the person twice before they finally answered their cellphone, "Hey cuz, how are you doing?"


	95. Starlight

Chapter 95 – Married – Starlight

 **A/N- Thank you all for reading my humble story and sticking around for how long this has taken me to write. I love you all and hope to continue to bring you all love stories along with the drama that comes with it in the future. I do hope you all can forgive my hiatus and I hope that this chapter and the chapter for Love Looks Not with the Eyes will make it up to you.**

The story has finally reached its inevitable conclusion, after all, all things with a beginning logically must also have an ending. But being the type of person that I am, who always has this burning desire to know what has happened to the heroes of the movies that I watch or the stories that I read after the credits have rolled or the last page has been turned. Has decided that it was only fair to indulge my curiosity and present to you this closing chapter of this tangled web that I have weaved for you.

Alice and Kev's lives were lived in parental bliss, the adoptions of their two children being finalized by the end of the year. They would on several occasions throughout their lives, open their home for emergency cases as was their original intention. Giving these lost children a stable place to live as they helped them put their lives back together as well as to help ensure that the powers that be placed them in suitable homes so that they could grow up in a stable environments. But along the way, they also personally fostered several more children who were almost old enough to be released from the system and live on their own but were still needing adult guidance to ensure a stable start to their independent lives. When Alice arrived at the pearly gates at the age of eighty-six, five years after Kev's death, and was welcomed with open arms by her friends, family and the love of her life, she felt at peace. Knowing that she had done good in the world and followed her mother's wishes by helping those in need by being a guiding light that only a mother can truly be.

Nat and Rave's relationship still had the small problem of the distance that laid between them for the next year. But that didn't stop them from giving it their all as Nat had this special ability to open Rave's heart up to the possibility that their love was eternal and not some fleeting thing that fate would tear asunder. And when Uncle Jo Jo had finally gone into retirement and passed the restaurant over to Rave, that distance between them was finally closed, as Nat quit his job, moved back to Peach Creek and proposed to the one who had so quickly stolen his heart. The two of them becoming partners in life and in business as they said their wedding vows a few months later, Nat using his business acumen to not only help make the restaurant thrive, but the family's winery grow and become a well-known name. Passing on a small but profitable company to the next generation some twenty years later so that they could enjoy their golden years together and tour Europe. Reaching their eternal reward peacefully only a few short years apart from one another, to rejoin their loving friends and families in heaven.

Ed and Angelica's married life had its ups and downs as most married couples do, but they never waivered in their love for each other as some do. For couples do fight because sometimes money is tight, and a bill had to go unpaid so that they could get groceries, or perhaps the card got declined when they were buying diapers. But the tough times did not out weight all the good times they had together, and all they had to do was weather the storms life threw at them to once again see the sun. Ed held true to all his promises he made to her father and took up a trade skill, becoming an electrician and eventually opening up his own shop in the sleepy little town of Peach Creek. Angelica got her GED and took night classes after she got out of her part time job at Kroger, becoming an LPN then continuing her studies to become an RN and landing herself a job the hospital in Peach Creek. But though the money was tight as they got their degrees and business training, they were still filled with joy when they found out that Angelica was once again pregnant, this time giving birth to a set of fraternal twins, Jacob and Mary. The two of them were like peas in a pod since the day they were born, but were Mary was sassy and outgoing, Jacob was quiet, reserved and down right shy. Occasionally scaring his mother to death when she hadn't heard a peep out of the baby boy in her backseat for nearly four blocks. Forcing her to pull over on the side of the road to make sure he was really there and not forgotten in the grocery cart at the store as well as still breathing.

As the boy grew it became clear that he would not grow out of his shy and reserved nature around people he was not familiar with and it was discovered in his teen years that he had a mild case of social anxiety. He did have a small but tight knit group of friends that his older brother and sister had introduced him to, but he found it hard to allow others his siblings did not know to get close to him. He never dated in high school, but found his first love in college, a spunky little red head by the name of April. M.D. teasing him by saying he was just a late bloomer when he brought her home to meet the family during spring break. By this time M.D. was already married and with his first child on the way, going into business with his dad and his father business partner. As Mary studied dance up in New York at a school her parents childhood friend's aunt had recommended. Edd Sr. and Kevin suggesting that she also live with Tina while she was going to college up there, to help with the rent and to give her some much-needed company. For try as they might they couldn't get the stubborn old woman to move back home to Peach Creek after Patty lost her battle with breast cancer two years ago.

Jacob married April after graduating Med School and had three beautiful children, one boy and two girls. M.D. had one more child with his first wife and another with his second, having joint custody with his first wife who remarried two years after the divorce. Mary graduated dance school and remained in New York to perform ballet with a well-established dance group that Tina had introduced her to. She met her husband through her work, as he was an adoring fan who had become smitten with her the first night he had seen her and proposed to her on the closing night of the nutcracker that same year. The two of them had one child together and many happy years of marriage.

Eddy and Justin's relationship did not last one year after they moved in with Edd and Kevin as they began their college careers at Summerville University. Eddy's ego had skyrocketed when he started the drag circuit professionally and became the up and coming legendary child of house Divine. This led to arguments that ended with one of them leaving and finding a place to stay for the night at a friend's house. Ultimately causing Justin to move back home before the school year was out and moving into the dorms the following year. Though Eddy kept up a brave front, his heart was shattered, he did not start dating again until the end of his junior year of college when he met a nonbinary person by the name of Sam who not only stole his heart, but also helped him bring his truth out to his parents by the end of their college careers. The two of them happily spent the rest of their lives together though they never got married, as neither one of them felt that a piece of paper was needed to define their love.

Justin had a harder time getting back into the dating game, for he found it difficult to broach the subject of his HIV statues with potential suitors and thus would shy away from whole idea. It was Kevin who introduced him to a handsome individual he had met at his trade school. And boy was Trevor smitten with him from the first moment he saw him, but sensed Justin's apprehension to the prospect of diving head first into a relationship, but was not deterred and gently courted the man. Kevin and Edd both helping the man out during the first few months of his courtship by slipping him information on Justin's whereabouts so that he could casually just happen to be at the same place at the same time. Kevin and Edd's strategy working as planned as Trevor was slowly able to pry open the gates to Justin's heart. And was so in love with him by the time that they got to the talk about Justin's HIV status that he listened to every word the man had to say about it and took the situation seriously but was not frighten away by it. The two of them getting happily married a year after Justin graduated from college, they adopted a baby girl a few years later.

Edd and Kevin's love only grew as the years went by, never faltering, even through the rough patches that comes with marital bliss. Their strength to face the hard times, including the fights they had, came from the knowledge that their place was always going to be by the others side. Finals were always the hardest times for Edd during college, the stress of holding a part time job to help out with bills but still continuing to study would always put him on edge. Bringing about a few epic battles between the couple, the first and most memorable one was the time Kevin's call of duty gaming had disturbed Edd's concentration. Kevin was almost certain that Edd was about to chuck the PS4 out the window just to ensure he had a moments peace to finish his late-night cram session. The solution was simple, and Kevin had to wonder why he hadn't thought of it before, a headset. But up until that moment he had always used the PS4's camera as a microphone and had never considered the possibility that he might be bothering Edd. He presented his solution to the situation after a quick trip to a nearby Gamestop the next day, and the couple made up, giving Edd the chance to blow off some much-needed steam. As Kevin showered him with his apologies in the form of sweet kisses all over his body as he expressed how sorry he was and how much he loved Edd with ever touch. The mood of the house improving drastically once finals were over and Edd's nerves were calmed once he had gotten his grades.

Edd hadn't really considered what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, which added to his anxieties, and had spent the first year of his college life taking required courses as he figure this out. His choice had taken everyone by surprise, as the seldomly thought of degree seemed a little morbid for their tastes. But now that his mind was made up he was determined to get his bachelors degree in mortuary science. He personally didn't see what all the fuss was about for his chosen career, for it paid well and provided a service that everyone would eventually need, ensuring job stability with a promising future. So what if he had to work with dead people, at least he wouldn't be stuck in some noisy office, having to deal with rude people and meet impossible deadlines that would drive him crazy. The solitary and quiet working environment was what he wanted, and the course work wouldn't extend his college career passed his original four-year plan.

With Edd's mind made up on his future career, Kevin supported him and began the next steps in their plans towards building a family. Within the next year Kevin had completed his first step of this plan by becoming a certified electrician and finding a job in Summerville to get some on the job experience while Edd finished college. After that he began researching adoption agencies with the help of the LGBTQA community center in town to find an agency that wouldn't be bias against them because of who they are. And once Edd had complete his college career they began the small matter of filling out mountains of paperwork, taking required parenting courses, passing a background check, providing references and going through a few at home interviews before getting the green light. From there it was only a matter of waiting for the agency to call to let them know that they had a child ready for adoption that matched the information they had provided.

It was two years after they had started the adoption process when they finally brought home the little bundle of joy that had instantly won their hearts over the moment they had saw him. Aden James Vincent, or Jim as both parents took to calling him rather quickly, would have a ruff life ahead of him according to the paperwork, for he had been born addicted to meth. He might have trouble sleeping, have ADHD by the time he would reach school age, possible learning disabilities, reduced fine motor skills and anger issues. Some might shy away from adopting a child with so many barriers already built up against him, but not Edd and Kevin, he was their son and they would love him and care for him for the rest of their lives.

Raising him was a joy, that much is certain, but the signs of his prenatal methamphetamine exposure were there. He was very hyperactive even by toddler standards, and that energy carried over into his bedtime to where the boy wanted to continue playing instead of going to sleep. He was also diagnosed with ADHD and put on the appropriate medications when he had entered school. He was considered an oddball by his classmates, as his hyperactivity made him a bit of a class clown in his early school years. His uncle Plank watched over him as best he could during elementary but being four years older then him, was off to junior high when Jim entered his second-grade year. But that didn't stop him from protecting him by giving him advice on how to handle the inevitable bullies that would try and prey upon his kind heart.

The two of them were inseparable despite their age differences, Plank always making time for his nephew on the weekends by staying over to watch monster movies into the late hours of the evening. Tucking him into bed when he finally fell asleep on the sofa with his head resting against Plank's shoulder, and he would not complain when the boy still woke up early the next morning full of energy wanting to play some more. Playing with toys turned into playing video games together as Jim grew up, as well as the old classic black and white monster movies turned into slasher flicks and B grade horror films. Talking about comics turned into conversations about dating as Jim asked his shy questions and Plank gave him some friendly advice from his wealth of experience, after all he was four years older.

Jim would come out as demisexual on his fourteenth birthday, as his shy but curious questions to Plank, along with a few google searches, had helped him figure out this part of himself. His high school career would be pretty void of relationships in the beginning, as his oddball status still followed him even after all these years. Along with the fact that puberty was running rampant with a few of his peers and sex seemed to be on most of their minds currently, causing him to shy away from prospective suitors as he was not interested in such things. Which led Plank to fill his duties as an uncle and give him some more friendly advice which went as follows. "Just because you date someone doesn't mean you have to sleep with them right away. You can take your time to get to know them and find out if they are the right match for you. And if it turns out that all they are really interested in you for is what's in your pants, then you have your answer already."

But never fear, for though it seemed bleak at the beginning, Jim did find the person he was meant to be with for the rest of his life before his high school days were done and would marry them the month after his graduation. Under the small gazebo that his parents said their wedding vows under all those years ago, and from that day forth they would live happily ever after.

The End.


End file.
